Currently the most popular Internet browser in the United States, Google Chrome is preferred among other browsers because of its simplicity, and at the same time, the array of other Google tools it offers, which are easily visible and accessible to users. A feature the search engine has is the voice activated Internet search. By saying 'Ok, Google', users are able to command what they want to search for using the browser. Now, however, the feature has been gotten rid of in Google Chrome for desktop.
A report from Standard Daily has said that Google removed the voice command feature from OSX and Linux, as well as the new version of the made-for-Windows Chrome v. 46. The company said it decided to remove the feature because not many people are using it anyway. It appears that Google is doing this in a bid to simplify the search engine, as it has also announced that the notification center will be removed as well.
Users of the new Google Chrome version will not be able to begin searching via voice command. They will instead have to click on the microphone icon next to the search tab to begin the search with their voice. Also, they will have to click on the mouse to open Google.com. While Google Chrome is popular for integrating many Google features into the browser, it has also faced criticism for being too crowded.
The features are all very useful and rich, but they are just too many. Users have been complaining that the popular web browser takes up too much RAM when installed and used. Apart from eating up huge amounts of memory, the voice command feature is also reported to be used by Google to listen in on its users' conversations. The company has come under fire for this in June this year.
The 'Ok Google' feature has been added to Chrome in 2013. The removal of the feature in the desktop version of Chrome does make sense, as it is expected that more users are apt to use the feature in their mobile phones rather than their desktop computers.
