Google Search update adds “Ok Google” detection from anywhere in the phone

Along with a bunch of announcements at the I/O developer conference yesterday, Google has bumped an update to  Search for Android. The latest update adds the ability for a user to say “Ok Google” anywhere on the device to initiate voice search.

To enable this feature, you have to go into Google Search, scroll to the bottom, tap Menu and navigate to Settings, then Voice, then toggle the “Ok Google” Detection setting. The hotword detection feature will be available on homescreens, running apps and even lock  screen. Prior to this update, users had to be on their phone’s homescreen to access the feature. We have previously seen this  feature on Motorola’s Moto X device and Droid line.

In addition, the latest 3.5.14 version of the app also gets Audio History. This feature helps the app learn your voice and  analyze it from your past voice searches for future accurate searches. Google is also adding  privacy controls to the feature. Users can review their own Audio History, delete individual searches, or simply disable the feature altogether.