It was inevitable. With Gemini taking form in all parts of Google’s ecosystem, it was apparent that Android would eventually follow suit. Alongside the new family of Pixel hardware, Google announced it is doubling down on its promise of AI by introducing a handful of new Gemini-enabled features, including Gemini Live, which lets you chat with it as if it’s right in your ear. Google calls this the newly rebuilt “assistant experience with Gemini.”
Android users are getting a new Gemini overlay. Like the Assistant before it, Gemini can pop in at any time you need with the long press of the power button and offer context about what’s on the screen. This works with several different apps in varying ways. Google’s examples include asking for additional information about what you’re watching on a YouTube video. Or, use it for image generation in an app like Google Messages. Circle to Search also gets a small feature bump on most Android devices. You can select and share material right as you interact with it.
Then, there’s Gemini Live, which launches today. This experience feels the most like the indie sleaze-era film Her, but the Google way and without the problematic ScarJo. You can speak “naturally” to Gemini, just as you would with another person, just like Joaquin Phoenix did with that earbud. And yes, the new Pixel Buds Pro 2 will enable this feature. Google says the new Gemini Live can understand intent, follow a train of thought, and do complex tasks the Assistant couldn’t do before. Gemini Live will even let you chat with it about life and track any ideas you might have. The company suggests using it to “brainstorm potential jobs” suited to your skill set. Let a machine help you figure out where you belong in the machine.
Gemini will be Google’s most widely available AI assistant, just as the Google Assistant was/is. It still exists in the Nest ecosystem to some extent, but Gemini is the replacement for what once was the Google Assistant as the handy helper. The only difference is the way you input it. Gemini relies more on imagery and direct prompting, and that’s not how we talk to Google Assistant. We trained ourselves to dial down the prompts once we realized digital assistants weren’t in it for the “casual conversation,” as we’d hoped. Perhaps Gemini will be that for Android.
Google promises Gemini is private. The ability requires your permission before accessing all parts of your life in the ecosystem, where it will then interact with your email and documents and serve as the assistant it’s billed to be. Some of Gemini’s Android features are processed in the cloud, while most “sensitive use cases” stay on-device with Gemini Nano.
If you’re down to using Gemini as Google intended, features like Gemini Live will start rolling out for Gemini Advanced subscribers. If you buy a Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro, Google will include a year of the Google One AI Premium Plan as a treat, which includes free access to Gemini Advanced for a year.
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