Google Assistant’s new Ambient Mode brings WhatsApp voice and video call support

Google announced a new Ambient Mode for Assistant at IFA 2019. The new mode will be arriving on a few Android phones and tablets that will essentially convert these devices into displays similar to that of a Google Nest Hub. Additionally, the company also announced that users can now use Assistant to make voice and video calls on the WhatsApp Android app. [caption id=“attachment_7294791” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  The new Ambient Mode on Google Assistant turns Android devices into Google Nest Hub-like displays. Image: Google.[/caption] When the supported devices are docked, it will be able to display weather, calendar information, notifications, reminders, music control and smart home device control in an interface similar to a Google Nest Hub. In the idle mode, the display turns into a digital photo frame showcasing all your photos from your Google Photos account. For now, Google said in a blog post that Ambient Mode is supported on the newly announced Lenovo Smart Tab M8 HD and Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab. For phones, it’s supported on the new **Nokia 7.2 and 6.2** . We don’t know whether Ambient Mode requires some special hardware or software (like stock Android) for a device to support it. However, this feature would be a useful addition and we would like to see it arrive on all Android devices. Google also announced Assistant arriving on a bunch of devices including smart speakers, smart displays, headphones, and TVs.