[POLL] Snapdragon vs Exynos. Does "OK Google" work if screen is OFF & not charging?

[heynando]

[POLL] Snapdragon vs Exynos. Does "OK Google" work if screen is OFF & not charging?

there seems to be NO consensus when it comes to ALWAYS-ON hotword detection regarding the S7. Let's establish one. Simply put, does Google's hotword gets triggered in your S7 even if the screen is OFF and phone is not charging?

_________________________________________________________________

I have dug into this. The snapdragon variant has two chips dedicated to audio, it's a DSP Group D4A1A (DBMD4) A/V Processor parried with a Qualcomm WCD9335 Audio Codec. But the Exynos variant has only one chip, the Cirrus Logic CS47L91 Audio Codec. Can the CS47L91 perform the same functions, more specifically always-on hotword detection, that the D4A1A (DBMD4) can?

I also wonder if the D4A1A (DBMD4) only detects the hotword from Samsung's S Voice or if it also detects third party hotwords such as the one from Google which is "Okay Google". We need to go deeper guys.

More info here =

 

[*Detection*]

I would imagine considerable battery drain if it was listening 24/7 even with the screen off, and would probably disable Doze from working

 

[yhn]

For some weird reason, Google Assistant showed up on my phone (the language on my phone is set to EN-US, but my search language is PT-BR) and screen off detection was enabled and working, later the entire Assistant (with the screen off detection) disappeared.

 

[maris__]

Besides for pleasing NSA, I don't see any sense in a permanently listening device. So I am happy that this is not the case with my Exynos S7.

Best, maris

 

[heynando]

I spent a few hours trying to figure this crap out, I'm kinda pissed it's this difficult to get it working or even to get correct/proper information regarding this specific subject. I didn't think it would be so niche in the actual days.

I discovered recently that Samsung's app S Voice has direct access to the hardware audio-dedicated chip that is ALWAYS LISTENING for a hotword. The standard hotword is "Hey Galaxy" for english, but it varies and it seems to be based on the language of the OS. I can confirm that even the Exynos variant has this functionality so the chip CS47L91 can be utilized to be always listening for a hotword without significantly impacting battery life. All the doubts regarding the capabilities of the chip CS47L91 are therefore disregarded, this is important!

One has to open the S Voice app at least once to set it up, only then the always listening function will be activated. When the hotword is recognized, the low-watt chip wakes the chipset which then follows with standard procedure. In fact it is so cool the word can be changed from "Hey Galaxy" and customized to any couple of words one desires. I just changed my hotword to HAKUNA MATATA, and even if the screen is OFF and the phone is not charging the hotword still gets triggered, the phone wakes up promptly able to receive voice commands.

That's the good part. THe sad part is that, so far, the S7's always-on hotword detection only work with Samsung's S Voice app. For unknown reasons third party apps, including Google's Assistant, do not work if the screen is OFF. But we know the hardware is there on both variants, period. I'm guessing third-party devs get no jelly because the access to the chip is encrypted by first-party devs. It could also be pure bureaucracy bs. It's very evident and clear that S Voice at its current state can't compete with Google's Assistant, it doesn't even scratch the surface.

Since it's potentially a chronic and eternal problem for this particular device, meaning a patch may never arrive, enter workarounds. The current workaround I'm playing with is using Samsung's S Voice to unlock and wake the phone, staying silent for a couple of seconds till it stops registering commands and right after it stops I say Google's hotword to activate Google's Assistant, then I proceed with what I wanted in the first place. It's not perfect, it's kinda horrible actually. But it gets the job done which is relevant, of course it can very frustrating if you are in a hurry or use the service multiple times a day.

I'll try to contact a Google Assistant dev to see what is really up, but for now, that's it.

 

[secondskin]

Excellent thread and info. I'm guessing for the majority of S7 users as well as phone users this functionality doesn't seem to be of concern. However in my particular job as a delivery driver I use OK Google all day long. I really wish screen off detection would work.

My work around is just using my bluetooth headset. I simply hold a button down for a few seconds Ok Google is activated even with the screen off.