Just over a year after its launch and various feature parity updates, Gemini is set to replace Google Assistant on Android phones later in 2025. This follows yesterday’s model updates and bringing Deep Research to all users.
Google announced today that the “classic Google Assistant will no longer be accessible on most mobile devices.” This will happen “later this year,” with users getting a more specific date beforehand. In the coming months, users still on Assistant will see a new upgrade prompt.
There will be an exception for phones running Android 9 or earlier and don’t have at least 2 GB of RAM, with the existing Assistant experience remaining in place for those users.
Google replacing Assistant follows new Android phones, including Pixel, Samsung, OnePlus, and Motorola, launched in the past year making Gemini the default experience. Meanwhile, the company says “millions of people have already made the switch.”
When Gemini launched in February of 2024, it was lacking many phone assistant capabilities, with Google making the option to switch back to Assistant quite prominent. The Gemini app has worked to address that gap with features like accessing Gemini on the lockscreen and letting it control phone capabilities with Utilities.
Before Assistant’s sunset, Google is “continuing to focus on improving the quality of the day-to-day Gemini experience, especially for those who have come to rely on Google Assistant.”
In winding down Google Assistant, the company notes how “natural language processing and voice recognition technology unlocked a more natural way to get help from Google” in 2016.
Nearly a decade later, we’re in the midst of another platform shift — this time, generative AI is transforming the way we interact with technology.
Google laid its aims with Gemini today, with Astra-powered video and screen sharing capabilities set for this month:
We believe an assistant should be personal to you, and aware of the world around you. It should be able to interact with the apps and services you already use. And it should make you more productive, more creative and a bit more curious.
Meanwhile, Google today confirmed that Gemini will be coming to watches, cars, tablets, and headphones. We’re already seen Gemini take over Google Assistant on Pixel Buds, while we’ve seen signs of it coming to Wear OS.
Google also said it’s “bringing a new experience, powered by Gemini” to speakers, displays, and TVs, with more details in the coming months. It’s actively in testing on the Nest Mini and Audio, while the TV experience was previewed in January.
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