Answering a call on a smartphone can be annoying when the device is not around or when your hands are busy. Fortunately, there are solutions.
From a performance and practical point of view, being able to do something in multiple ways is always better than using one method. You can choose the one that suits you best when you need. To answer a call on your smartphone, you also have several options instead of picking up your device and picking up the handset. Here are three methods you may have known about but may have forgotten.
How to answer a call with a voice command
The voice digital assistant tells you the weather, allows you to set reminders, and can also answer incoming calls. If you are using Android and have Google Assistant. “OK Google”activation should be activated and then you can use your voice to accept or reject an incoming call.
In the Google app on your phone, tap your profile picture in the top right corner, then go to Settings, Google Assistant, and Hey Google and Voice Match. On the “This Device”tab, make sure the “Ok Google”button is enabled.
Incoming calls show a notification on your android smartphone. All you have to do is say “OK Google, answer the phone”to accept the call. You can also say “OK Google, reject the call.”
Another possibility is to use a connected speaker such as Google Nest or Amazon Echo to route the call through the speaker. This is configured through the Google Home or Amazon Alexa apps. It is currently not possible to answer a call using Siri on iPhone.
How to answer a call using headphones or a headset
People have been using their Bluetooth headsets/headphones for years to answer calls. After pairing the accessory with a smartphone, the call can be routed directly to the headphones. The method of answering a call depends on the headset or headphones. Most modern car infotainment systems also allow this.
In less time, smartphones have gotten smarter so you can take hands-free calls through headphones or headphones. Often a simple touch is enough to accept an incoming call, but again this depends on the accessory. For example, with the Sony WF-1000XM4, you need to double-tap one of the earbuds.
If you’re using AirPods or some Beats headphones with iPhone, Siri can tell you who’s calling and use a voice command to answer the call. From the Settings menu, select Phone, then Announce Calls, and select Headset Only. You will then have the details of the call in your ears. When this feature is active, you don’t need to say “Hey Siri”, just say “Yes”or “No”to accept or reject a call.
With Google Pixel Buds, you can tap the right earbud to answer an incoming call, but you can’t use Google Assistant. You can make calls through Pixel Buds using Google Assistant, but you can’t answer with your voice alone.
How to answer a call using a computer
Answering a call from a computer, laptop or not, can still seem pretty futuristic, but this technology has been around for a few years now. To use it, you need to be in a single ecosystem.
The process is simple if you have an iPhone and a Mac: From the iPhone’s Settings menu, select Phone, then Calls on other devices to activate it. Both devices must be signed in to the same Apple ID and the same Wi-Fi network, and then everything will work automatically. An incoming call on your iPhone triggers a notification in macOS, just tap to answer.
You can perform the same operation on Windows with an Android smartphone. To do this, you need to open the Windows Phone Link app and follow the on-screen instructions to connect your Android device to Windows. As long as both devices are connected via Bluetooth and you turned on calls during setup, you can click the notification that appears whenever your Android smartphone receives a call.
At the time of writing, it is not possible to answer a call on an Android smartphone with a Chromebook, but the functionality is under development. Currently, you can connect an Android device to share files and notifications with a Chromebook: in Chrome OS, tap the clock icon, then the gear for settings. There, select “Setting”next to the Android smartphone under “Connected devices”.