Google brings back touch controls for Home Mini speaker

The update is being rolling out to Home Mini units that are enrolled in Google’s software preview programme. 

After disabling touch input functionality owing to privacy concerns, Google is bringing back play and pause tap buttons to its compact smart speaker Home Mini. According to a report in The Verge on Saturday, Home Mini users will now be able to long press the volume buttons on either side of the device to control music, news, alarms and phone calls.

In October, Google disabled the feature after a privacy issue was reported in which the Mini was registering “phantom” touches and recording more often than intended, said CNET. The device was caught recording a user’s every single word, query and sending it back to the servers. Google issued a fix for Home Mini speaker in order to tackle this extreme privacy violation.

The problem with the Mini was “hotword activation” via “long press” on the touch panel. This basically allows Google Assistant to be activated without saying the hotword, but Google has disabled this feature. With the top touch function, you could also wake up the Google Assistant built into Mini and issue a voice command.

The update is being rolling out to Home Mini units that are enrolled in Google’s software preview programme. Google recently rolled out an update that will allow you to use Home speakers as intercom systems in your house. People can broadcast their voice from Google Assistant on smartphones or voice-activated speakers like Google Home.

With Tech Desk inputs