At the touch of a button: controlling your smartphone with your own voice

Almost two-thirds of smartphone users in Germany and Austria use voice control on their mobile phones. They ask questions such as ‘Hey Google, what will the weather be like tomorrow?’, they instruct the voice assistant to make a phone call (‘Hey Google, call Markus’) or set the alarm for 8 o'clock.

So while the vast majority of Germans have taken a liking to the digital assistant, older smartphone users are still somewhat cautious when it comes to controlling their mobile phones with their own voice. Only 30 percent of people over the age of 65 use voice control on their smartphones, while the other 70 percent are still reluctant to talk to their mobile phones instead of typing and swiping.

Yet the Google Gemini voice assistant can make life a lot easier. It provides information about timetables, has access to weather forecasts, TV and cinema programmes and a wealth of knowledge databases. It can also make calls, send text messages, play music, control smart home devices, set reminders, open apps and much more on command.

The European smartphone company emporia now makes voice control easily accessible at the touch of a button. The patented ‘No Panic Button’ on the back of emporia smartphones can be assigned to the Google Gemini voice assistant. Simply press the button and speak your question or command into the mobile phone.

‘Voice control is a revolutionary convenience for many applications. We take the buzzword “accessibility” seriously and want to make the digital voice assistant accessible to everyone,’ says Eveline Pupeter, owner and managing director of emporia.