Pixel 4 could come with a brand new way to use Google Assistant

It might seem like almost every detail of Google's upcoming Pixel 4 has already been leaked, and yet fresh details are somehow still emerging.

Now we have another intriguing feature to consider, relating to how Pixel 4 will interact with Google Assistant. The phones will come with an all-new way to invoke Google Assistant, according to a report from 9to5Google, which says Pixel 4 could include a new "raise to talk" feature.

Any time you want to ask Google Assistant a question, you can just pick up your phone and start speaking, rather than saying "Hey Google," or holding the home button.

9to5Google reports:

After lifting your phone up, asking a question or issuing a command will invoke Assistant. Your speech has to come immediately after the raise or Google will ignore it. The company is privacy-conscious about this feature and will note that voice recognition happens on-device.

Google wouldn't be the first to implement such a feature. The Apple Watch has long had an optional "raise to speak" feature for Siri commands. But there are some bigger implications for Google, as 9to5 notes. Such a feature could raise significant privacy concerns, as the lack of a specific keyword or button push could trigger unintentional Google Assistant queries. (And let's not forget it was only a couple months ago that Google was forced to do some explaining after some users' conversations with the virtual assistant were leaked by a contract worker.)

To mitigate some of these concerns, Google reportedly plans to keep Pixel 4's voice recognition on the device itself, and not in the cloud.

There's also some question about whether "raise to talk" will launch with Pixel 4 or come in a later update. Google is also reported to be readying several other improvements to its assistant, including the ability to wait on hold during phone calls.

Software details will likely be among the few remaining surprises when Pixel 4 launches later in October. Google itself has already shown off what the phones look like, and teased new gesture recognition capabilities. Leakers have since shown off photos of the phones, along with the entire spec sheet.

Google will officially unveil the Pixel 4 at its annual Made by Google event on Oct. 15.