Google Assistant is rolling out to Android Marshmallow, Nougat phones

Google’s digital voice assistant Google Assistant is coming to smartphones running on Android 7.0 Nougat and Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Google confirmed in a blogpost.

“Starting today Google Assistant is rolling out to Android 7.0 Nougat and Android 6.0 Marshmallow devices with Google Play Services,” Google wrote.

The Google Assistant was limited to the technology company's own products when it was released last fall, but it has steadily been expanding to a broader range of devices. In starting, it was made available on Pixel, Google Home, Google Allo and Android Wear.

To start the Google Assistant, a long press on the Home button or saying “Ok Google” will be required.

The Google Assistant will roll out this week to English speakers in the United States with phones running Android 7.0 Nougat and Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the company said.

English speakers in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom will gain access to the assistant next, followed by German speakers in Germany, and the company is working on support for additional languages.

“Our goal is to make the Assistant available anywhere you need it,” Gummi Hafsteinsson, product lead for the Google Assistant, wrote in a blog post published on Sunday. “With this update, hundreds of millions of Android users will now be able to try out the Google Assistant.”