Alongside news that Gemini has replaced Bixby on Samsung phones this week, Google has updated Gemini’s abilities on millions of Android phones.
Gemini can now do responsibilities in several programs with a single message. For example, I asked him at the service of the Caribbean restaurants in northern London and sent them to my friend at WhatsApp, which he did. I also asked him to know when Mobb Deep plays in London and uploads it to my calendar, which ended.
This new multimodal feature works in conjunction with Gemini’s app extensions. A handful of AI responses from Google Apps (and now Samsung) force AI responses, adding workspace apps, Spotify, Messages, and WhatsApp.
This is a vital step to make assistants of AI more as genuine assistants. What has lacked throughout the Alexa, Siri and the era of the Google assistant is the defect of attaching to other facilities and carrying out undeniable tasks. The Nest speaker to load ingredients to a list of edible purchases is easy, but it is this type of characteristic that has eluded those products for years.
This meant that the assistants opposed to the voice were not up to the promise or the review. The multimodal competition adds an intelligence layer to an asymmetric experience, but is limited to establishing itself in the programs and this can confuse the limits of the new functionality.
The key to using the feature is to remember that it only works with select Google and Samsung apps. Gemini found my housework task list in Google Documents and shared it with my partner, as requested. But it won’t send a message on your behalf, so I couldn’t get it to text my barber to book an appointment and then add that my calendar.
In addition, Google’s example provides how automation works, requesting recommendations to eat, then send the list to a friend, eliminates a key detail in the use of Google Maps: quality control. I need to review the institutions before sending them to someone, who still wants a human touch.
Elsewhere, Gemini Live—the conversational part of the AI service that allows instant back-and-forth chat—now supports uploaded images, files, and YouTube videos. For example, you might upload a picture of your fridge contents during a discussion with Gemini Live about what recipes to cook that week. This is only available on Pixel 9, Galaxy S24 and S25 phones.
Circle to Search has also been updated with AI Overviews. The search function, which launched last year, allows users to draw a circle on images to conduct an image search. Now, Google’s AI summaries that appear on top of Google searches will also show up in Circle to Search results, although the accuracy of overviews has been criticized since it launched last May.
With the exception of the Gemini Live updates, it’s appealing to note that Google adds next-generation AI reports to millions of smartphones that require new gadgets or a subscription.
Google says the new multimodal Gemini feature is available to all Gemini users on the web, Android and iOS. Google does have a paid AI subscription tier and Samsung has teased charging for Galaxy AI at the end of this year. For now, though, these AI updates are free and accessible to most smartphone users.
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