How do I get rid of Google Assistant on my home button

[dgcamero]

Hate to break it to you... they are mostly going to just appease you a bit. Google Assistant is a core part of Google's services on your phone. You can turn it off, but it'll just ask to re-enable it, and you are not going to be able to go back to Google Now/On Tap (at least easily or without repercussions) ... because that feature is in the process of being deprecated by Google.

And you aren't going to get a lot of sympathy from Google, they are very proud of Google Assistant and have put a tremendous amount of time, money and effort into its development. (And they should, it's a great feature)

The non-US based support was apologetic and wanted to help, even though he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about or what the Google Assistant is. He did not call back in the specified time. However, it was on a Google Voice number which only rings thru hangouts, so it is not particularly reliable.

The US based support team member was very arrogant, and completely non apologetic. He almost wanted me to apologize to him for daring to ask that the Assistant be disabled, or at the minimum be typing friendly. He said that it was Samsung's fault that the phone didn't allow me to type when I long pressed home. He basically told me that I was an ***** for not wanting to talk to my phone every single time. He said it was more efficient to have to hit the home button once and pull up the Google app to type the search string in (when Now on Tap likely would have just pulled up what I was searching for). He has to do that on his Pixel and it's more convenient now for him and the way "most people search on their phone." That means that he lied about the Samsung home button issue to pass the blame to someone else.

I think the Assistant would be great if you could just type into it. That's all. Google needs to have options.

 

[theonlynikki]

I forgot I can change my home button through my Nova Launcher. I was able to turn my long press back to the Google App.

 

[LeoRex]

I think the Assistant would be great if you could just type into it. That's all. Google needs to have options.

That's coming... The function already exists in Allo to type queries to Assistant, it is just a matter of opening that up to the main Assistant UI. It's already gone through a bunch of feature expansions already... the screen search and screenshot capabilities, etc.

Lest we forget how Now was when it first released. It only did a few cards, didn't really show a lot of information. But it DID show a lot of potential. And Google kept adding and adding... and I view it as one of the single most important functions that Android has... then again, I've used it from the beginning, so it's molded itself to my usage. I saw plenty of people who would say "Oh, I don't use Now at all, it doesn't seem to do anything" Considering that Now was a piece of technology that really can't do much until it learns more about you, that is a self-defeating prophecy.

So there's a bit of patience involved. Assistant WILL be enhanced, and enhanced quickly. Unlike a lot of bits of software that Google releases and then sort of puts on the back burner, they've gone all-in on Assistant and that is going to be the core of their software experience.

 

[Shugacookie]

Hate to break it to you... they are mostly going to just appease you a bit. Google Assistant is a core part of Google's services on your phone. You can turn it off, but it'll just ask to re-enable it, and you are not going to be able to go back to Google Now/On Tap (at least easily or without repercussions) ... because that feature is in the process of being deprecated by Google.

And you aren't going to get a lot of sympathy from Google, they are very proud of Google Assistant and have put a tremendous amount of time, money and effort into its development. (And they should, it's a great feature)

Speaking into your phone is not always convenient. As another said, he can't do that while in a meeting. So while it may seem great to you, it is not great for everyone. Great would be having the option to speak or type. Google has always been intrusive though, so I'm not surprised. Until they provide the option I'll just work around with language setting on English US Virgin islands, or an app.

 

[LeoRex]

Speaking into your phone is not always convenient. As another said, he can't do that while in a meeting. So while it may seem great to you, it is not great for everyone. Great would be having the option to speak or type. Google has always been intrusive though, so I'm not surprised. Until they provide the option I'll just work around with language setting on English US Virgin islands, or an app.

Oh, I wasn't saying that forcing voice only is great.. far from it .. I don't use voice much, if at all, either. I'm typing most of the time.... but Assistant doesn't stop you from doing that as the homescreen search widget still does its thing, and the Google app feed is still there. They just changed the On Tap interface and removed the icon shortcuts... besides you couldn't type anything directly into On Tap, you had to tap on a link to get somewhere. If there are some holes in the interface that need to be fixed, I am sure they'll work on addressing them.

Never make the mistake of assuming everyone else's experience matches your own. I thought the On Tap stuff was really good, but I also know that it was very underutilized... most people didn't even know it existed, or what it did. They had tons of usage data and know how much, or how little, people used it. They tossed the digital apple cart on a brilliant feature that very few people actually used.

 

[Shugacookie]

Oh, I wasn't saying it was great.. I don't use voice much, if at all, either. I'm typing most of the time.... but Assistant doesn't stop you from doing that as the homescreen search widget still does its thing, and the Google app feed is still there. The switch to Assistant really only removed two things, and those things were only in the On Tap/Screen Search interface: the feed cards and the search icons (gas stations, ATMs, etc).

The on tap was convenient for obvious reasons, not leaving your screen to use search. I feel assist has made extra steps for those I of us who can't always speak to our phones and to me extra steps to use a function are a step backwards. Is there another short cut or was the home screen button the only way?

 

[LeoRex]

The on tap was convenient for obvious reasons, not leaving your screen to use search. I feel assist has made extra steps for those I of us who can't always speak to our phones and to me extra steps to use a function are a step backwards. Is there another short cut or was the home screen button the only way?

On Tap, you still left the screen. to get to search, you long pressed, then hit the Google icon, which then brought you over to the Google App.

There are so many quick ways to get into a input box in Google Search though... no matter what launcher you use.

 

[dgcamero]

On Tap, you still left the screen. to get to search, you long pressed, then hit the Google icon, which then brought you over to the Google App.

There are so many quick ways to get into a input box in Google Search though... no matter what launcher you use.

I don't know what version of the Google Now on Tap you had, but mine works like so. I hold down the home button to do a Google search. The Google app scans my screen for relevant information. While this is happening, I can remain silent, which will show results from the screen search. I can say OK Google, and speak my search, or I can start typing my search, both of which will show me the results of my search. I only had to hit the Google icon to bring my Google Now cards up. I was able to type to my phone for the search, and just had to say the catch phrase to do pretty much what the Assistant does.

The assistant makes it so you have to download a third party app and assign the Google app (which is what's assigned to long button home press anyway [how long before that's disabled and assistant is the defacto Google app result??]) to do a one touch, *easy* Google search where you don't have to speak to your phone, hit the home button once, or twice if you weren't on the assigned Google icon screen (and not too fast with twice, lest you pull up the camera) and then hit the app icon, or have to rearrange one or all of your muscle memory home screens to accommodate the search bar, or the consistent buttons on the bottom of the pages. Try explaining that to your mom, step dad, half brother, his wife, your sister in law, aunts, et al...it's above their head and they all don't like it. And I hate it.

 

[LeoRex]

I don't know what version of the Google Now on Tap you had but mine works like so. I hold down the home button to do a Google search. The Google app scans my screen for relevant information. While this is happening, I can remain silent, which will show results from the screen search. I can say OK Google, and speak my search, or I can start typing my search, both of which will show me the results of my search.

First, the GA interface is going to evolve. Quicker access to the text search is in the works already (no idea when it will be available though). And yes, in the meantime, users will have to go back to the main Google widget to use text input, rather than just tapping on the Google icon in On Tap. I don't see that as a hardship.

As I said before, Assistant is Google advancing things... On Tap, which I agree was a great feature, was also a feature that wasn't being used on a wide scale. The vast majority of users weren't even aware it existed. But Google isn't trying to make searching harder, far from it.

 

[dgcamero]

First, the GA interface is going to evolve. Quicker access to the text search is in the works already (no idea when it will be available though). And yes, in the meantime, users will have to go back to the main Google widget to use text input, rather than just tapping on the Google icon in On Tap. I don't see that as a hardship.

As I said before, Assistant is Google advancing things... On Tap, which I agree was a great feature, was also a feature that wasn't being used on a wide scale. The vast majority of users weren't even aware it existed. But Google isn't trying to make searching harder, far from it.

Do you work for the Google Assistant developer team?

 

[LeoRex]

Do you work for the Google Assistant developer team?

No, . But I know things.

 

[dgcamero]

No, . But I know things.

But to have access to the non provided to the public information...you work for Google and have access to this information, or you work for WikiLeaks?

You might even be the Google customer service representative I spoke with when they forced this half baked, and therefore infuriating, 'Assistant' upon the masses. Yes, it's not even worth the proper quotes.

 

[LeoRex]

No... I don't work for Google in any capacity. Users involved with the Google app beta program have been seeing commits in the beta releases since January that point to Google working on the feature. In things like APK breakdown, for instance... Google often checks in parts of test code to the released product that point back to features that have not been widely released yet. And in those strings is a text box that includes the phrase "Type something..." and other commits that add methods like "type_container" and "keyboard_toggle". Doesn't take much reading between those lines to understand what that implies.

I get it, you don't like Assistant. I happen to disagree with you.. I don't find it at all infuriating. But that's fine, you can't please everyone. What I am trying to get across is that Assistant is the heart of Google's roadmap going forward... it's not going away... so yes, you are most likely going to not going to find many sympathetic ears when you contact them.

 

[Aquila]

Just use the Google Search widget from your home screen or open the Google app itself.

 

[Griffon23]

No... I don't work for Google in any capacity. Users involved with the Google app beta program have been seeing commits in the beta releases since January that point to Google working on the feature. In things like APK breakdown, for instance... Google often checks in parts of test code to the released product that point back to features that have not been widely released yet. And in those strings is a text box that includes the phrase "Type something..." and other commits that add methods like "type_container" and "keyboard_toggle". Doesn't take much reading between those lines to understand what that implies.

I get it, you don't like Assistant. I happen to disagree with you.. I don't find it at all infuriating. But that's fine, you can't please everyone. What I am trying to get across is that Assistant is the heart of Google's roadmap going forward... it's not going away... so yes, you are most likely going to not going to find many sympathetic ears when you contact them.

I too prefer the long press Google Now or Google On Tap, I probably use both of those features multiple times everyday.

I was truly excited when the Google Assistant arrived, I will use it here and there but not as a complete replacement for easy to access information via On Tap or Now which don't require me to speak. Now instead of just having the option to choose what long press of home does I have to change my phone's language settings to appear like I'm in the Virgin Islands just to get the Assistant to back off (what a stalker).

The biggest reason I've been with Android since Windows Mobile MANY years ago was because of the options, customization, and freedom. Being forced into using something, or at the very least making it harder to access things I easily could previously just seems very contrary to the reason I've championed the Android platform for so long.

 

[LeoRex]

People were forced into using On Tap... It used to just be a link to the Google app. Software evolves.

 

[stmiranda]

Just use the Google Search widget from your home screen or open the Google app itself.

Yep. That's what I do. Simple

 

[dgcamero]

People were forced into using On Tap... It used to just be a link to the Google app. Software evolves.

On Tap added options. It didn't remove one of two input methods. How do hearing impaired people feel about The Assistant?

 

[LeoRex]

On Tap added options. It didn't remove one of two input methods. How do hearing impaired people feel about The Assistant?

They might not have a use for Assistant at the moment, but the text based interface is still available. You talk as though the addition of Assistant removed your ability to type in queries, which a) it doesn't and b) neither did On Tap. On Tap just had a quick link to the Google app and the card based UI. And a native, built-in text input feature, something On Tap does not have, is coming soon to Assistant.

But what about the flip side? If you are vision impaired, perhaps having a more voice-centric feature like Assistant is a welcomed addition.

Funny you should mention accessibility concerns... Google is too... word is that the next major version, O, will have a major on more accessibility improvements. If true, you can be rest assured that you will see a lot of enhancements to Assistant.

 

[Aquila]

On Tap added options. It didn't remove one of two input methods. How do hearing impaired people feel about The Assistant?

Most of the content is visual being enhanced by voice. Assistant is much more friendly to accessibility users than Now ever was, with the obvious exception of those who cannot speak... who can use assistant in Allo, or the Google search widget, Google app, browser, etc. Nothing has changed for those users.