You might be able to power off your Android phone with the Google Assistant soon

Android 12 is supposed to bring in a whole lot of tactile and visual changes to the OS including the very customisable Material You design language. And possibly, a new way to turn your phone off.

Google's new Material You design on Android 12.  (Google)

Google has added a whole bunch of cool features to Android 12 that's currently in beta and should be rolling out officially soon. One of them is the power to pull up the Google Assistant by long-pressing the power button. Additionally, the Google Assistant is gaining the power to turn off your phone following your voice command. This has been spotted by 9to5Google when they decompiled the latest version as a part of their APK Insight series. But as is the case with APK files, some of the features spotted on decompilation may or may not turn up in the final version when it rolls out, that remains to be seen.

One of the changes we've had a look at is a new way to access Google Assistant. Currently, it can be done by saying - “Hey Google” or by swiping up from the corner of the screen. The new addition will allow users to invoke the Google Assistant by long-pressing on the phone's power button.

This feature will bring Pixel phones in-line with Samsung Galaxy devices, however, it was spotted that Android 12 Beta does not offer any way to turn off the smartphone right now if you are going to use the long-press on the power button to invoke the Assistant. 9to5Google has spotted a possible solution to this problem. Google is adding a power button to Android's Quick Settings, but that's not all.

A new way to power off the device.  (9to5Google )

A new way to power off the device.  (9to5Google )

The Google Search app got a new beta update which includes an in-app explainer for a new way to use the Assistant. There will be two ways to power off your phone in Android 12. You press the Power button and the volume up buttons together to access the power menu, that's one option. The other is to possibly say something like “Power off” to the Google Assistant to turn off the device.

Right now, on Android smartphones, the Google Assistant either tells you that “power controls are not available or walks you through the correct way to shut your phone off”. What is not clear is whether saying “Power off phone” will turn your phone off immediately or whether it will open the power menu for your to do it manually. Also, there is no clarity whether this feature will come to all Android devices with Android 12 or will it be exclusive to Pixel devices.