Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Right now, Google gives Android users a choice between Gemini or the Google Assistant as their AI-powered digital assistant.
- Before the end of 2025, Google will stop offering Assistant on devices capable of using Gemini, making the switch mandatory.
- Google is also looking to bring Gemini to all the other places you find Assistant, like cars and wearables.
For the past year now, Google’s been making the case for Gemini, its next-gen AI-powered chatbot and digital assistant. So far, Android users have had the choice between keeping the reliable old Google Assistant that they’ve had on their phones for years, or making the early transition over to Gemini. For most of us, that choice is about to go away, as Google shares its plans for Gemini fully taking Assistant’s place.
At some point later this year, Google Assistant will no longer be available on most Android phones. Before that day comes, Google will be scrambling to make Gemini available on more and more devices. But once it does, you’ll no longer be able to hold onto Assistant.
There’s one small asterisk there, but it’s not going to impact owners of reasonably modern hardware; if you’re still rocking an Android 9 phone, or one with under 2GB of RAM, you can’t run Gemini in the first place, so Google’s showing a little mercy and letting you keep Assistant. But everyone who can run Gemini has to.
This kind of news is understandably a bit of a shock to receive, but even if we didn’t know exactly when Google might make a commitment like this, it felt like this was a direction we were inevitably moving in. We’ve already spotted plenty of the groundwork along the way, like preparing for a “Hey Gemini” hotword.
This isn’t just big Gemini news for your phone, as Google also talks about its expansion plans into headphones, watches, tablets, and cars — like we recently got an early look at with Gemini on Android Auto. Assistant will remain available on those devices until it isn’t, but Google is clear that the way forward is Gemini, Gemini, Gemini. We can expect more details on what the transition will look like on these kinds of devices a little later this year.
Have you been a fan of Gemini since day one? Are you going to stick with Assistant all the way up until Google rips it away from you? Make the case for your favorite virtual assistant down in the comments.
