It’s as if the use cases for artificial intelligence features multiply every day, even when the need for them is little. Google’s Gemini and Samsung’s Galaxy AI are just two of the biggest names caught in a competitive headlock, with one trying to outdo the other in every way. Today, Samsung has added Gemini Live to its troupe and solidified its position as a key player in intuitive mobile experience.
Technically, Gemini Live isn’t new, but what Samsung announced is a new version or expanded capability of it. If you recall, the tool was originally part of Google’s Gemini AI suite. By design, it’s meant to encourage real-time and natural conversations where even interruption is possible.
What’s new now is that both companies have added real-time visual interaction to it. You can use your camera or screen to share to have a more dynamic chat. The Galaxy S25 series are the first devices to receive the update for free and a gradual rollout is already happening.
Gemini Live now chips into your real life
Gemini Live is an intelligent tool that lets you talk to a smart assistant in real time. If you’re already familiar with Google Assistant, think of it as the same but smarter. You can ask it questions or talk with it. It tries to respond as a human would with interjections in between feeling more natural.
Recently, instead of being limited to text and voice prompts, Samsung has expanded its abilities with visual prompts and made it your best friend in hardware. Per their example, if you’re trying to pick an outfit for an event, you can point the camera at your clothes and ask for suggestions. If you’re shopping online or looking at something on your screen, you can share that view with Gemini Live and get help right away.
Together with Google, we are marking a bold step toward the future of mobile AI, delivering smarter interactions that are deeply in sync with how we live, work and communicate. With this new visual capability, Galaxy S25 series brings next-generation AI experiences to life, setting new standards for how users engage with the world through their devices.
Jay Kim, EVP & Head of Customer Experience, Samsung MX.
All you have to do is press and hold the power button on the side of your Galaxy S25, S25+, or S25 Ultra phone to launch Gemini Live, and from there, you can interact with it however you like.
The update is part of Samsung’s ongoing partnership with Google, where Samsung uses Google’s Gemini AI models and blends them into the Galaxy AI experience. It’s why you can get up to six months of Gemini Advanced free on the S25 series when you upgrade. It also lines up with Google slowly phasing out Google Assistant. They are replacing it with Gemini to the point where the new AI is baked directly into Galaxy phones.
An assistant that actually feels personal is the goal
Samsung’s latest announcement is more important than most people may understand. It pushes AI assistants beyond talking. Google is the only company that’s actually built the tools to make this kind of visual interaction work well at scale, especially in Google Lens.
Lens already lets you point your camera at almost anything from plants, animals, and math problems to parking signs in other languages and instantly getting helpful info. Meanwhile, most assistants today, including Alexa, Siri, or even Bixby, are still mostly voice-driven. You say something, they respond. It’s useful, but it’s limited. They can’t “see” what you’re doing.
It’s not everyday you’d want to play dress up with your phone or have it so invested in your shopping activities. But it is nice to know that you can pull it out of your pocket when you actually do need that kind of help.
