Google Assistant has added in a new command, whereby users can type in “take a screenshot”, or simply say the same, and Google Assistant will do just that. The new command works in exactly the same way as the existing method, using the on-screen button. Any extra UI elements, such as the status bar and navigation bar, will not be included, and the screenshot will only contain the central content being shown on the screen. Once a screenshot has been taken, the built-in sharing menu will open up, allowing you to upload the screenshot or share it to friends as you please.
The new command comes not long after the implementation of a button within the Google Assistant popup that allows users to take a screenshot. Since the new command builds upon the existing screenshot function by integrating it into Assistant’s normal control methods, being verbal and typed commands using natural language, the button method could be safely phased out without Assistant losing any functionality. Google has yet to say anything about the new feature, which naturally means that the company has also not said anything about whether this new command will supplant the screenshot button, or whether they will live in harmony. With the addition of a speech-driven method that automatically cuts out the borders of the content on the screen, using Google Assistant is now one of the easiest ways to take a screenshot on Android.
Since Google has not put out a statement about the new command and it has thus far only been reported on Android, there is no way of knowing what the command may do when used with a device like an Android TV unit at this time. Google Assistant has been built on incorporating and integrating typical smartphone functions into voice commands from the start, and this new command is just another step down that path. Scattered reports of some other new Assistant features, such as a screenshot editor, are still reportedly coming in very small numbers, which means that these changes are likely in a limited testing run, and may not roll out to all users for quite some time, if they do at all.