Google Now for Android now allows you to set reminders with your voice

Car rentals is typically an exercise in utter frustration. Now, even if a little, Google’s latest voice search update might help. “When is my rental car reservation?” are the magic words, pulling together your booking numbers, pick-up and drop-off dates in a card that’s been part of Google Now since last year. More broadly, the voice search can now program reminder alarms, too, completely hands-free. Oddly, the voice-based reminders prior to this update required a button-press to set the alarm, which pretty much defeated the point of the thing.

If you’re using Google Now with an Android device, it’s now possible to create and confirm a new reminder with your vocal chords alone. While it was possible to create a voice reminder before, the following screen that listed Google Now’s interpretation – when and where the alert would occur, as well as the specified message – required you to confirm it with a quick tap. As Android Police reports, you can simply say “yes” or “set” now to finish the reminder. It works flawlessly and should prove useful when your hands are full, for instance while driving or carrying some shopping bags. We tried the feature on an iOS device too, but no luck – this update is Android-exclusive.