Google’s “Voice Access” is decent for controlling the device through verbal commands, but you have to be looking at the screen to get results - it won’t read anything back to you.

Google’s “TalkBack” will read things on screen to you, but you have to interact with the screen physically (never mind the significant change in how interactions work - which I understand the need for - but it’s still a serious mental PITA to switch between the two interaction methodologies frequently).

Is there no way to just interact with it entirely verbally? A (very) simple example of what I’m looking for:

  1. “What are the current Google News headlines?”
  2. Starts reading each one aloud, along with the names of the sources.
  3. “Read the article about Trump caught making out with Elon from AP News.”
  4. Proceeds to load the article & read it aloud.

(Yeah, I know there are podcasts for this - it’s meant to illustrate the basic idea of completely verbal interaction with the device, not be an actual problem I’m looking for someone to provide a solution to.)

It just seems to me that we should be able to do this by now - especially with all the AI blow-up over the past couple of years. Can anybody point me to a usable solution to accomplish this?

TIA.

EDIT: I thought of a better example (I think), because it occurred to me that the above one could (sort of) be done with a Google Home speaker. I’m looking to be able to interact with Android apps verbally wherever possible, so my better example is “What are the latest posts made to the ‘No Stupid Questions’ community on Lemmy?” So far as I know, Google Home is not able to do such a thing. I’d like to tell Android to open my Lemmy client and start reading post headlines until it hit one I wanted to have it open & read to me.

I’m basically looking to use apps verbally to fill in gaps that Google Home/Assistant don’t cover.

EDIT 2: Here’s an even better, more universally applicable description of what I’m after - copied from a response I gave to another comment:

Imagine someone doing some relatively mindless menial job such as working an assembly line, janitorial work, chauffer - something where your mind is relatively unoccupied, but you’re not free to look at and/or touch your device (whether it be due to practicality, or job rules). While doing that job, I want to be able to have the device read and interact with something of interest to me at that moment (ADHD is a fickle mistress), rather than just relying on podcasts with predefined content. Kind of like having someone next to me doing all the interfacing between me and the device.

EDIT 3: I added a comment with some news on options that may come close enough to doing the job which I’ve come across since posting.

  • @Skezlarr@aussie.zone
    2•1 month ago

    I might be misunderstanding the question, so if you’re looking to make an existing android device you have work like this, please ignore the below.

    Maybe a Google Nest Mini would do what you’re looking for? It’s definitely got the ability to be interacted with entirely verbally, but I guess the downside is a smaller selection of apps that do work with it (there is a list on the Google store of which apps it works with)

    • @SanctimoniousApeOP
      2•1 month ago

      I have a few Google Home Minis, and so far as I know they are the same thing - just rebranded. It’s basically the same thing as Google Assistant built into every Google-approved/equipped (meaning it has their full suite of apps pre-installed) device. They’re just so limited. I know of no way to get them to read Lemmy posts as in my added second example.

      I also thought of another use case for what I’m after that might be more universally applicable and easily understood. Imagine someone doing some relatively mindless menial job such as working an assembly line, janitorial work, chauffer - something where your mind is relatively unoccupied, but you’re not free to look at and/or touch your device (whether it be due to practicality, or job rules). While doing that job, I want to be able to have the device read and interact with something of interest to me at that moment (ADHD is a fickle mistress), rather than just relying on podcasts with predefined content. Kind of like having someone next to me doing all the interfacing between me and the device.

      (EDIT: minor swipe keyboard corrections.)