Gemini is replacing Google Assistant on Pixel phones, and it’s a trainwreck

With its new Pixel 9 telephones, Google Assistant is getting a demotion.

As an alternative, Google’s will ship Gemini because the default voice assistant on its flagship telephones. Gemini makes use of massive language fashions to interpret questions and generate solutions, which suggests it could reply in a extra conversational manner.

However whereas Google is desperate to showcase Gemini as a solution to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, tossing out Assistant is a mistake. Too usually, Gemini fails at performing fundamental duties, and it’s going to trigger plenty of frustration for people who rely on their cellphone’s voice management options. Though Google says Gemini can now deal with most of the identical directions as Assistant, that hasn’t been my expertise in any respect.

As proof, I submit a checklist of helpful Google Assistant actions that both aren’t attainable or don’t work correctly with Gemini.

Native outcomes are worse

Whenever you ask Google Assistant what time Goal closes, you’ll get a useful checklist of close by places, their corresponding hours, cellphone name buttons, and hyperlinks to Google Maps instructions.

The identical question in Gemini produces a much less helpful response: “Most Target stores close at 10 PM.” Whereas Gemini does return correct solutions for some companies, it’s by no means with the identical helpful context and formatting as Assistant.

Gemini can’t take notes

The best voice assistant ought to enable you seize concepts you’re too busy to cease and write down. Google Assistant is nice at this, letting you dictate notes to be saved in Google Maintain.

Whenever you attempt to take a voice word with Gemini, the one response is “Sorry, I can’t help with that.”

No-can-do on to-do lists

Whereas Gemini understands time-based reminders and will save them in Google Duties, it doesn’t perceive learn how to add gadgets to a to-do checklist.

By comparability, Google Assistant can add gadgets to both Google Duties or Google Maintain. You possibly can even arrange a number of lists—like one for packing and one other for groceries—and use voice to assign gadgets accordingly. I rely on this Assistant characteristic virtually every day, however Gemini doesn’t help it.

Climate doesn’t work proper

Climate forecasts are probably the most fundamental use instances for digital assistants, but Gemini routinely flubs it by giving me particulars from the state of Washington, whereas Assistant had no issues telling me the climate right here in Cincinnati.

I’m guessing this is simply a bug, nevertheless it occurred on each a Google Pixel 8a and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5, though the Google app has entry to my location on every machine.

Flip-by-turn instructions don’t load

Ask Google Assistant for instructions, and you’ll see a “Start” button that instantly launches into turn-by-turn navigation from Google Maps.

The identical directions fail in Gemini. Whilst you can faucet on a small hyperlink to open instructions in Google Maps, it solely units an approximate beginning location, and will solely present a “Preview” of the instructions as an alternative of launching into turn-by-turn mode.

Music and podcast requests are YouTube-only

With Google Assistant, you should utilize voice instructions to play music in a wide selection of streaming providers, together with YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Apple Music, and Deezer. Assistant additionally helps podcasts from Spotify and YouTube Music, and it could play a number of built-in ambient sounds, similar to white noise and ocean waves.

Gemini solely ties into YouTube Music as an alternative.

Video (in)capabilities

Ask Assistant to look at a film or present, and it’ll possible take you straight into the corresponding streaming app.

Gemini can’t do this. As an alternative, it’ll both inform you the place that present may be out there—with no hyperlink for fast entry—or recommend associated issues to look at on YouTube.

No photograph search

Wish to see photos of somebody you’ve tagged in Google Pictures? Simply open Assistant and say “show me pictures of [person] in Google Photos.”

Gemini, given the identical request, says it’s incapable of doing in order a massive language mannequin.

Bye-bye to a helpful information characteristic

An underappreciated Google Assistant characteristic is the every day information briefing, which helps you to say “play the news” to listen to audio newscasts from suppliers similar to NPR and The New York Occasions. You can even say “latest news” to see a carousel of tales from Google Information.

If you happen to ask Gemini to play the information, it gives a checklist of pointers on the way you may go about listening to the information—not useful—however its cold-sweat response to “latest news” is downright comical: “I’m trained to be as accurate as possible, but I can make mistakes sometimes,” Gemini says. “While I work on perfecting how I can discuss elections and politics, you can try Google Search.” Not useful.

No Routines

Google Assistant’s Routines characteristic permits you to automate a number of voice actions with a single voice command. It’s particularly helpful for sensible dwelling units, letting you management lights, switches, and door locks .

Per Google’s documentation, Gemini is imagined to help Routines in a restricted capability, however in my expertise they don’t work in any respect, and the choice to allow routines in Gemini’s settings merely doesn’t seem.

A lot for Shortcuts

With Assistant, Google began creating a neat feature called Shortcuts, which helps you to rapidly accomplish actions in numerous Android apps with a voice command. As an illustration, you may arrange Shortcuts to name an Uber, share your Google Maps location, determine a music in Shazam, or observe an train in Fitbit.

With Gemini, Google is replacing that system with, effectively, nothing. Whereas Gemini has an “Extensions” system that ties into Google providers similar to YouTube and Gmail, the corporate has not introduced any plans to increase that system to third-party builders. It’s too unhealthy, as Apple is constructing out even deeper third-party app integrations with Siri in iOS 18.

A slower expertise

With two Android telephones working side-by-side, one working Assistant and the opposite Gemini, I requested a simultaneous collection of questions concerning the climate, sports activities scores, and dictionary definitions. Responses from the cellphone working Gemini have been routinely a second or two behind these from the cellphone working Google Assistant.

Delegated to Assistant

Unusually, some vestiges of Assistant stay inside Gemini, which can name on the older voice mannequin to deal with sure duties. Whenever you ask Gemini to create a reminder, ship a textual content, make a cellphone name, or schedule a calendar occasion, you’ll see an icon indicating that Assistant completed the motion.

Why is this distinction obligatory? And if Gemini can merely invoke Google Assistant as wanted, why doesn’t it achieve this for all the opposite duties at which Assistant is clearly superior?

The most certainly reply is that Google needs to be rid of Assistant totally, preferring to maneuver onto this new mannequin that it hopes to monetize by subscriptions. One new characteristic of Gemini is a mode referred to as “Gemini Live,” which permits for back-and-forth dialog and requires a $20 monthly Google One AI Premium subscription. Pixel 9 customers get a yr Gemini Dwell without spending a dime.

However in its zeal for what it believes is the way forward for AI, Google is tossing out too many voice assistant capabilities that already helpful immediately. And whereas customers can nonetheless switch back to Google Assistant, which means being caught with a voice assistant that’s deteriorating from neglect.

Possibly Google wants to tear the Band-Help off sooner or later, however it’s positively going to sting proper now.