{"id":11295,"date":"2022-07-31T14:37:36","date_gmt":"2022-07-31T14:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/31\/the-google-pixels-squeeze-for-assistant-was-a-button-without-a-button\/"},"modified":"2022-07-31T14:37:37","modified_gmt":"2022-07-31T14:37:37","slug":"the-google-pixels-squeeze-for-assistant-was-a-button-without-a-button","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/31\/the-google-pixels-squeeze-for-assistant-was-a-button-without-a-button\/","title":{"rendered":"The Google Pixel\u2019s squeeze for assistant was a button without a button"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/7\/30\/23278192\/google-pixel-2-active-edge-squeeze-sides-button-control<\/a>
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The Pixel 2 is an almost five-year-old phone, but it introduced a feature that I miss more and more with each passing year. It was called Active Edge, and it let you summon Google Assistant just by giving your phone a squeeze. In some ways, it\u2019s an unusual idea. But it effectively gave you something sorely lacking on modern phones: a way to physically interact with the phone to just get something done<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Looking at the sides of the Pixel 2 and 2 XL, you won\u2019t see anything to indicate that you\u2019re holding anything special. Sure, there\u2019s a power button and volume rocker, but otherwise, the sides are sparse. Give the phone\u2019s bare edges a good squeeze, though, and a subtle vibration and animation will play, as Google Assistant pops up from the bottom of the screen, ready to start listening to you. You don\u2019t have to wake the phone up, long-press on any physical or virtual buttons, or tap the screen. You squeeze and start talking.<\/p>\n

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Looking at the sides of the Pixel 2, you\u2019d never guess it\u2019s actually a button.<\/em><\/figcaption>Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales \/ The Verge<\/cite><\/p>\n

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We\u2019ll talk about how useful this is in a second, but I don\u2019t want to gloss over just how cool it feels. Phones are rigid objects made of metal and plastic, and yet, the Pixel can tell when I\u2019m applying more pressure than I do just holding it. According to an old iFixit teardown<\/a>, this is made possible by a few strain gauges mounted to the inside of the phone that can detect the ever so slight bend in your phone\u2019s case when you squeeze it. For the record, this is a change my human nervous system is incapable of picking up on; I can\u2019t tell that the phone is bending at all.<\/p>\n

Whether you found Active Edge useful probably came down to whether you liked using Google Assistant, as illustrated by this Reddit thread<\/a>. Personally, the only time I ever really used a voice assistant on a daily basis was when I had the Pixel 2 because it was literally right at hand. The thing that made it so<\/em> convenient is that the squeeze basically always worked. Even if you were in an app that hid the navigation buttons or your phone\u2019s screen was completely off, Active Edge still did its job.<\/p>\n

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