Amazon Alexa users look away now, Google Assistant just released a new feature in the UK. The ability to be able to call any landline or mobile for….free! This is done via WiFi without the need for a connected phone.
Google Assistant will be able to call numbers saved in your contacts as well as numbers dictated.
This is not new technology as various VOIP providers have offered similar services via their website or software. What however is new is how accessible this new feature will be.
“Hey Google call….”
Followed by a name or number, without the need for any additional hardware or software.
Users can even set the caller ID of their Google Assistant to their mobile resulting in the receiver seeing its you calling.
Google announced the calling feature at their I/O developer conference in mid 2017, launching it in the US in August followed by the UK today.
This is yet another nail in the UK landline market, watch out BT who still charge a heavy premium for ‘line rental’ for a phone line to make calls that often you are charged a lot for.
The update is being rolled out from today with all users expected to have the feature within 7 days.