Is Voice Access the same as Google Assistant?

Voice Access and Google Assistant are two popular voice-activated digital assistants. Voice Access is an accessibility service developed by Google to help people with mobility challenges use Android devices hands-free. Google Assistant is Google’s virtual assistant that can understand voice commands and complete tasks across a variety of Google and third-party services.
While Voice Access and Google Assistant share some similarities in utilizing voice commands, they serve different primary purposes. Voice Access aims to provide greater accessibility and device control for people with disabilities. Google Assistant is designed more as a general-purpose virtual assistant for completing tasks and getting information.
What is Voice Access?
Voice Access is an Android accessibility feature developed by Google that allows users to control their phone using voice commands. It was designed to help people with mobility impairments use Android devices hands-free through speech. Voice Access is available for download on the Google Play Store and works on Android smartphones and tablets running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and higher.
Voice Access allows users to tap buttons, scroll, enter text, and more using natural speech. The app catalogues every actionable item on the screen and assigns numbers for easy voice navigation. For example, you can say “Tap button 3” or “Scroll down” to interact with the device. Voice Access also enables editing text fields using dictation.
Key features of Voice Access include navigation by voice, hands-free text dictation, and custom voice commands. It aims to providegreater independence to people with dexterity impairments or other conditions that make touchscreen control difficult.
In summary, Voice Access is an Android accessibility app from Google that allows touch-free interaction through speech. It enables people with mobility limitations to use their devices hands-free.
What is Google Assistant?
Google Assistant is an AI-powered virtual assistant developed by Google. It allows users to complete tasks and get information through natural voice interactions on Google-enabled devices like Android phones, Google Nest speakers, and more (What is Google Assistant?). Google Assistant utilizes natural language processing to understand speech and respond conversationally with information, suggestions, or actions.
Google Assistant can perform various tasks like setting alarms, controlling smart home devices, playing music, making calls, getting directions, and more. It aims to provide a seamless virtual assistant experience across Google’s ecosystem of products and services. Google Assistant is constantly learning and improving through advancements in Google’s AI research.
Similarities
Both Voice Access and Google Assistant allow for voice control and hands-free use of your device [1]. With Voice Access, users can navigate their Android device and use apps completely hands-free through voice commands. Similarly, Google Assistant is activated by saying “Ok Google” or “Hey Google,” allowing users to ask questions, get information, and control smart home devices using just their voice [2].
Both features also utilize voice recognition technology to identify the user’s unique voice patterns. Voice Access can be trained to recognize a user’s voice to give them personalized access and control. Similarly, Google Assistant uses a feature called Voice Match that learns and recognizes a user’s voice so it can provide personalized results and access [3].
Differences
While Voice Access and Google Assistant share some similarities, there are several key differences between the two in terms of intended users and main features.
Voice Access is designed specifically with accessibility in mind, to help those who are blind, have low vision, or have motor difficulties to use their Android devices hands-free [1]. Google Assistant, on the other hand, is a general digital assistant designed for use by the broader population.
Some of the key features of Voice Access include controlling an Android device entirely hands-free, navigating between apps and screens, entering and editing text by voice, and accessing notifications and settings [2]. Google Assistant offers a broader range of capabilities, including finding information, controlling smart home devices, setting reminders/alarms, listening to music, placing calls, and more.
In summary, Voice Access focuses specifically on basic device control and accessibility for those with disabilities, while Google Assistant is meant for the general public and offers a wider range of digital assistant features beyond basic device control.
Voice Access Features
Voice Access allows users to control their Android device entirely through voice commands.[1] It offers features in four main categories:[2]
For voice commands, users can tap buttons, scroll, enter text, and more using natural speech. Voice Access has a conversational interface and can understand commands like “tap the back button” or “scroll down”. Users can customize the wake word and voice to their preferences.
In terms of customization, Voice Access allows users to set up custom commands for common actions. For example, you could create a command like “text Mom” to automatically open your messaging app and start a new message to a preset contact. There are also options to adjust speech rate, error sensitivity, and interface colors.
Overall, Voice Access aims to provide hands-free control of Android devices for users with limited mobility. Its robust voice command features and customization options allow users to optimize the experience to their individual needs.
[1] https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/control-android-device-entirely-voice/
[2] https://siit.co/blog/how-to-control-your-android-device-entirely-with-your-voice/1712
Google Assistant Features
Google Assistant offers a wide range of features that extend beyond web search and into smart home control and automation. Some of the most popular Google Assistant features include:
According to How-To Geek, one of the most useful Google Assistant features is the ability to control your smart home devices and appliances. You can use voice commands to turn lights on or off, adjust the thermostat, lock doors, and more if you have compatible smart home devices. This allows for convenient hands-free control of your home.
Another major feature of Google Assistant is web search. You can ask Google Assistant questions or search queries and receive information from the web through news reports, Wikipedia results, weather reports, sports scores and more. This provides a convenient hands-free way to access information.
Accessibility
Voice Access was designed by Google as an accessibility service to help people with mobility impairments use Android devices through voice commands. It allows users to navigate their phone and use apps completely hands-free without touching the screen. This makes Voice Access incredibly useful for those with limited mobility such as paralysis, tremors, or other disabilities that make touch controls difficult.
According to Google Support, “With Voice Access, you can use voice commands to open apps, scroll, type, and more so you can use your Android device hands-free.” Some of the key features include the ability to say “Ok Google, tap Camera” to open the camera app or “Hey Google, scroll down” to navigate pages. Users can dictate text to respond to messages, emails, and more.
Voice Access provides a critical accessibility tool that enables those with disabilities to fully utilize smartphone technology and complete tasks independently using just their voice. It allows for greater accessibility and empowerment for disabled users.
Limitations
While Voice Access can be a useful accessibility tool, it has some limitations in certain situations:
Voice Access may struggle with some accented English dialects or non-English languages. Microsoft notes that Voice Access works best with native English speakers using a neutral accent.
There are also some limitations when using Voice Access on Android devices after several years. As noted on one forum, Voice Access can become less reliable and accurate over time on a 4+ year old Android phone.
In noisy environments, Voice Access may have trouble accurately recognizing commands. It works best in quiet settings without too much background noise.
Finally, Voice Access has limited ability to navigate across multiple displays. It primarily works on the main display and cannot utilize overlays on secondary monitors.
Conclusion
In summary, the key differences between Voice Access and Google Assistant are:
- Voice Access is built into Android and focused solely on device control, while Google Assistant is a broader virtual assistant with knowledge features.
- Voice Access uses numbered menus and screen reading to navigate apps, Google Assistant uses natural language commands.
- Voice Access offers more robust accessibility features for motor impairments, Google Assistant has limited accessibility support.
- Voice Access only works on Android devices, Google Assistant is available across platforms.
- Voice Access relies on the device’s microphone, Google Assistant can use external smart speakers.
While both allow some hands-free control, Voice Access is tailored for accessibility while Google Assistant aims for virtual assistance. The two have complementary strengths and limitations.