At IFA 2019, Google unveiled the Google Assistant-powered Ambient Mode and began its limited rollout late last year. The feature is now hitting OnePlus phones after making its way to a bunch of Nokia, Sony and Xiaomi smartphones as well as Lenovo tablets. OnePlus has launched a Google Assistant Ambient Mode rollout for OnePlus phones by partnering with Google.
Ambient mode, which takes over the screen while the phone is charging, makes multiple tasks easy to perform without having to unlock your phone and fire up apps. Along with showing controls for smart devices and music playback, it also allows to set the alarm as well as see the schedule and weather. The screen in ambient mode can also view a Google Photos slideshow, essentially turning your phone into a digital photo frame.
As with Smart Displays and the Pixel Stand, Ambient mode has two parts - a lock screen showing the time in big numerals and a slideshow of Google Photos. At the bottom of the screen, notification icons appear along with a simple shortcut to open the Assistant. Tapping provides a more interactive weather and calendar notification card experience, along with a greeting similar to the Assistant’s Updates feed, which notes missed calls and commute times. The final thing for Assistant smart home devices is a row of quick actions.
OnePlus announced in an official forum that Google’s Ambient Assistant Mode is now rolling out for OnePlus 3 and all phones that will be released later. However, the functionality is being rolled out in a phased manner and hitting all eligible phones could take up to a week. It should also be known that Google Assistant Ambient Mode is only compatible with Android Oreo or a later version of the phones.
In order to allow Google Assistant Ambient Mode, if there is a compatible OnePlus phone and the feature is already received, this path is to be followed on the phone: Google App Settings > Assistant > Devices (Phone). It can also be done by simply connecting the charger and tapping the notification on the Ambient Mode to go through the setup process to activate the app.
