Update 1 (03/24/2021 @ 04:32 PM ET): We've managed to enable the feature to bring you some screenshots of the Memory feature in Google Assistant. Click here for more information. The article, as published earlier today on March 24, 2021, is preserved below.
Google is always working on expanding the Google Assistant's capabilities, and it routinely experiments with new features and skills for the virtual assistant. In October last year, we spotted strings related to one such feature called “Assistant Memory.†At the time, it wasn’t clear what this feature was supposed to do. But in the latest update for the Google app, we have found loads of new strings, resources, and layouts about this feature.
An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by the developers in a future build.
One of the strings describes the Assistant Memory as “an easy way to save and find your stuff.†It will essentially let you ask the Google Assistant to remember or save something important to you, and it will create a memory for it. But the new feature will have a much broader scope than the current note-taking and reminder functions offered by the Assistant.
Users will be able to save notes, reminders, photos, screenshots, links, and more and have them neatly organized under different labels. Saved stuff will get added to a memory list which will display everything in one place for easier access.
<string name="stash_enter_record_payload_message">What do you want to remember?</string>
<string name="stash_open_memory_chip_text">Open Memory</string>
<string name="stash_record_creation_successful">"I'll remember that!"</string>
<string name="stash_save_chip_text">Save</string>
<string name="stash_toast_error_message">Sorry, something went wrong.</string>
When saving a reminder, you’ll also be able to attach a screenshot or a photo for more context.
<string name="assistant_memory_record_editor_payload_hint">Add note</string>
<string name="assistant_memory_reminder_open_button_onboarding_title">Reminders now get saved to Assistant Memory</string>
<string name="assistant_memory_reminder_remove_context_onboarding_subtitle">"If you want to remove the attached screen content, tap the little 'X' button"</string>
<string name="assistant_memory_reminder_remove_context_onboarding_title">Reminders now get saved with screen content to Assistant Memory</string>
<string name="assistant_memory_screen_capture_disabled_text">Screen capture not enabled</string>
<string name="assistant_memory_screen_capture_open_settings_text">Open Settings</string>
<string name="assistant_memory_take_photo_button_description">Take photo</string>
The feature will let you trash Memories once they have fulfilled their purpose, and it will also give you an option to restore them from the trash folder.
<string name="assistant_stash_empty_trash_confirmation_dialog_message">"All items will be permanently deleted. This can't be undone."</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_empty_trash_confirmation_dialog_negative_button_title">Cancel</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_empty_trash_confirmation_dialog_positive_button_title">Empty Trash</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_empty_trash_confirmation_dialog_title">Empty Trash?</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_empty_trash_failure_snackbar_text">Failed to empty trash. Please try again.</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_empty_trash_progress_dialog_message">Emptying Trash…</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_empty_trash_subtitle">Any Memories you delete will appear here</string>
When saving something, like a photo of a new place you’re visiting, you’ll have the option to store your location along with it so you can easily find it again on Google Maps.
<string name="assistant_stash_location_card_subtitle_text">Give Assistant permission to store your location when you save things, to make it easy to find them again. You can disable this at any time</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_location_card_title_text">Allow Location</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_location_permission_allowed_failure">Failed to enable location</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_location_permission_allowed_success">Location enabled</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_maps_action_title">Open Maps</string>
For faster access, users will also get the option to add an Assistant Memory shortcut on the home screen.
<string name="assistant_stash_shortcut_banner_start_button_text">Add to Home screen</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_shortcut_banner_subtitle">Add a shortcut for faster access</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_shortcut_banner_title">Make Memory just a tap away</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_shortcut_card_image_content_description">Shortcut image</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_shortcut_card_primary_button_label">Add to Home screen</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_shortcut_card_secondary_button_label">No Thanks</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_shortcut_card_subtitle_text">Add a shortcut for faster access</string>
<string name="assistant_stash_shortcut_card_title_text">Make your Memory just a tap away</string>
Assistant Memory is marked as a "dogfood feature," meaning it’s currently being tested internally and requires a whitelisted Google account to be accessed.
Along with Assistant Memory, we have also found strings for another new feature that will notify users about earnings calls. These strings suggest that the Google App will alert you whenever a company whose ticker you follow on the stock market has a quarterly earnings call.
<string name="earnings_call_during_event_title_with_dynamic_time">%1$s now</string>
<string name="earnings_call_pre_event_title_with_dynamic_time">%1$s in %2$s</string>
<string name="earnings_call_title_with_static_time">%1$s at %2$s</string>
Both Assistant Memory and Earings Call alerts are still in development and not accessible to the end-users. We'll keep an eye out for any further developments, and we'll let you know when they go live.
Update 1: Screenshots of "Memory" in Google Assistant
With a bit of tinkering, we managed to enable the new Memory feature in the Google App. Here are screenshots of the onboarding process:
And here are screenshots of the main UI:
Android app developer and reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi also managed to enable the new feature, sharing more screenshots of the feature in the Google App. This feature is still marked as a "dogfood" feature and is not yet accessible to regular users of the Google Assistant. Once it does roll out, we'll let you know.
Thanks to PNF Software for providing us a license to use JEB Decompiler, a professional-grade reverse engineering tool for Android applications.