

- #GOOGLE HOVER CAR INSTALL#
- #GOOGLE HOVER CAR ANDROID#
- #GOOGLE HOVER CAR SOFTWARE#
- #GOOGLE HOVER CAR BLUETOOTH#
There are two main differentiators that sets the Bolt apart. Also, if you have the car in a charging mount, the power issue is easily solved, and you can easily keep it unlocked if you want.
#GOOGLE HOVER CAR ANDROID#
After all, you can access Assistant as well as Android Auto with a regular Android phone. Yet, a car mount is also exactly the reason why you might not need the Roav Bolt.

Perhaps my one complaint is that I don't have a screen for the step-by-step directions (looking down at your phone is an option, but that's pretty dangerous to do while driving), but a Google spokesperson said that's easily solved by investing in a phone car mount. Since it's tied to the Google ecosystem, I could use it to turn off the lights in my house, even while on the road. It's also great for sharing my ETA with someone or finding a nearby gas station while navigating. I could ask it to play my favorite songs, use it for directions, make phone calls, read incoming messages, and add appointments to my calendar. Using the Bolt also has very low battery consumption compared to having Assistant open at all times on your phone.Īside from those few issues though, having access to Google Assistant in the car is actually pretty great. Google says that the Bolt is on standby at all times, which means you don't need to unlock the phone in order to utilize Assistant. Additionally, the lack of noise-cancelling means that I couldn't blast my tunes as loud as I would like. As someone who uses Google products pretty regularly, the delay was noticeable, and it took me a little while to get used to it. After I said "OK, Google," for example, it took a few seconds longer than normal for the Assistant to trigger.
#GOOGLE HOVER CAR BLUETOOTH#
Just as Google warned, my experience was a little hampered due to a slightly older Bluetooth system. So I had to go through an additional step of pairing my phone to my car, which was a bit of a pain. However, my car doesn't have AUX it only has Bluetooth. I tried out the Roav Bolt with AUX at a separate Google demo (with a Google-supplied car), and the Assistant did manage to hear my voice commands even over really loud music. Plus, the only way to really experience the Bolt's noise-cancelling features is through AUX.
#GOOGLE HOVER CAR SOFTWARE#
According to Google, that's because most in-car Bluetooth systems run on older software with poor Bluetooth performance, which will impact the overall experience.

Though the Bolt works with cars that have both Bluetooth or AUX support, it works best with AUX (it comes with an AUX cable in the package). This is where I ran into the other caveat. You can disable notifications at any time in your settings menu. After connecting it to my Pixel 3, the Google Assistant wizard automatically kicked in, and I followed the on-screen setup instructions.
#GOOGLE HOVER CAR INSTALL#
To install the Roav Bolt, I plugged it into my car's 12v port, and it immediately went into Bluetooth-pairing mode. For one thing, it only works with Android phones for now - iOS compatibility is in the works, but that's still very much in beta at this point.

Setting the Roav Bolt up is relatively easy, but there are a few caveats. If you want to reset the Bolt or put it in pairing mode, you can long-press that same button. Although you can just say "Hey Google" for Assistant to kick in, there's also a physical button that you can press to skip that step. On the top are four LED lights that'll light up to show you it's working - blue indicates pairing mode, orange is when it's looking for a connection, green is for an incoming call and white is when it's listening to you. It has a couple of USB ports on the side for charging your phone and there's an AUX jack as well. The Roav Bolt itself is a pretty simple device that sticks into your car's cigarette lighter socket (also known as the 12-volt port). We gave it a brief spin recently, and though it has a few issues, it does appear to be an easy and affordable way to get Google Assistant in your ride. It's partnering with third-party manufacturers to do so, and the first is Anker's $50 Roav Bolt. A few months ago, however, Google announced another possible solution: a line of aftermarket auto accessories that will offer yet another way to bring Assistant into the car. You can also install the Android Auto app on your phone, which works well if you have a car mount. Of course, that's not exactly practical, and it doesn't help if you're looking for something a little older. One way to get Google Assistant into your car is to simply buy a car with Android Auto.
