The intelligent personal assistant ‘Google Assistant’ is an exclusive feature of Google’s latest handsets Pixel and Pixel XL. If you are looking for a way to integrate the AI powered Google Assistant on your non-Pixel phone (Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, etc. running on Android 7.0 Nougat), there is a workaround to do it.
In this guide, we will let you know how to enable Google Assistant on your non-Pixel phone. Thanks to the XDA member Yasharkhan, his workaround will literally work on any Android phone running on Android 7.0 Nougat and later regardless of official or custom ROM. However, since it requires editing the build.prop file, a rooted device is required.
You might have already known about ‘Google Assistant’, if you have installed Google’s latest messaging app ‘Allo’ on your phone. Announced at Google I/O May 2016, Google Assistant is considered an extension of Google Now, but the AI (artificial intelligence) powered Google Assistant can engage in two-way conversations.
Now, checkout the guide below to know how to enable Google Assistant on non-Pixel phones, such as Nexus 6 Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, or any phone running on Android 7.0 Nougat.
Note. The below guide requires a rooted phone with Android 7.0 Nougat or up (custom or official ROM) running on it.
How to enable Google Assistant on non-Pixel phones
1. Install ‘BuildProp Editor from Play store here and open it.
2. Tap the menu button (3 vertical bars) and tap on ‘Create backup’ option to back up the build prop file.
3. Tap on the edit option (pencil icon) and enter the below line to the end of the build.prop file.
ro.opa.eligible_device=true
4. Now, look for ro.product.device entry and change its value to pixel. It now looks like this:
ro.product.device=pixel
5. Now, save the changes and then reboot your phone.
6. Finally, install the latest version of Google app from Play Store from here (beta version)
You are now ready to use your personal assistant Google Assistant. Just touch and hold the Home button to get help from your Assistant. You can find help about this subject from the XDA thread here.