A controversial dance continues for Pixel users as Google has once again removed the Assistant shortcut from the tappable mic icon on the Pixel Launcher. Remember that brief window earlier this year when tapping the mic became a search party instead of an Assistant summon? It’s back, and this time, it might be for good.
This latest rollback was first spotted when Google announced that Assistant would be losing underutilized features. The company claims the mic’s “most popular use case” is, in fact, launching search. Some Pixel users, however, may beg to differ. The ingrained habit of tapping the mic shortcut for instant Google Assistant access is being disrupted for seemingly nebulous reasons.
Previous changes to this function happened through server-side updates. And this seems to be the case with the latest change. We are seeing mixed results on our Pixel devices. For instance, tapping the Pixel Launcher mic icon on the Pixel 8 Pro running the latest stable build still triggers Google Assistant. However, the same action triggers Google voice search on the Pixel 7a with the latest Android 14 QPR2 beta 3.1 build. But having made their stance clear, it’s just a matter of time before this change becomes available for every Pixel user.
Google’s justifications remain thin. A “more consistent experience with the Google app” doesn’t explain why the Pixel Launcher itself should deviate from the established norm. The company’s silence on the diagonal swipe gesture launch (another Assistant access point) only fuels suspicion. Is Google Assistant whispering goodbye to gesture controls altogether?
It’s unclear what’s driving this disruptive change. But it’s possible that Google is fixed on a future where the microphone icon will launch Assistant with Bard, Google’s new AI language model, instead of the classic Assistant. It’s also plausible that this is just a change based on internal data that we never get to see. Whatever the reason, Pixel users now have a learning curve and a broken muscle memory with no option but to adapt to what is to me a less convenient Assistant access point.
Hillary Keverenge
2122 Posts
Tech has been my playground for over a decade. While the Android journey began early, it truly took flight with the revolutionary Lollipop update. Since then, it's been a parade of Android devices (with a sprinkle of iOS), culminating in a mostly happy marriage with Google's smart home ecosystem. Expect insightful articles and explorations of the ever-evolving world of Android and Google products coupled with occasional rants on the Nest smart home ecosystem.
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