With its new Pixel 9 telephones, Google Assistant is getting a demotion.
Instead, Google’s will ship Gemini because the default voice assistant on its flagship telephones. Gemini makes use of giant language fashions to interpret questions and generate solutions, which suggests it could possibly reply in a extra conversational approach.
However whereas Google is raring to showcase Gemini as a solution to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, tossing out Assistant is a mistake. Too usually, Gemini fails at performing primary duties, and it’s going to trigger numerous frustration for folk who rely on their cellphone’s voice management options. Though Google says Gemini can now deal with lots of the identical directions as Assistant, that hasn’t been my expertise in any respect.
As proof, I submit an inventory of helpful Google Assistant actions that both aren’t doable or don’t work correctly with Gemini.
Native outcomes are worse
If 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 Goal shops shut 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 perfect 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 Keep.
If you attempt to take a voice be aware with Gemini, the one response is “Sorry, I can’t assist with that.”
No-can-do on to-do lists
Whereas Gemini understands time-based reminders and can save them in Google Duties, it doesn’t perceive the right way to add objects to a to-do checklist.
By comparability, Google Assistant can add objects to both Google Duties or Google Preserve. You possibly can even arrange a number of lists—like one for packing and one other for groceries—and use voice to assign objects accordingly. I depend on this Assistant characteristic nearly day by day, however Gemini doesn’t assist it.
Climate doesn’t work proper
Climate forecasts are one of the primary use circumstances 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 that is only a bug, however 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 also you’ll see a “Begin” 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 can solely present a “Preview” of the instructions as a substitute of launching into turn-by-turn mode.
Music and podcast requests are YouTube-only
With Google Assistant, you should use voice instructions to play music in a variety of streaming companies, together with YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Apple Music, and Deezer. Assistant additionally helps podcasts from Spotify and YouTube Music, and it could possibly play quite a lot of built-in ambient sounds, akin to white noise and ocean waves.
Gemini solely ties into YouTube Music as a substitute.
Video (in)capabilities
Ask Assistant to look at a film or present, and it’ll seemingly take you instantly into the corresponding streaming app.
Gemini can’t try this. As an alternative, it’ll both let you know the place that present could be obtainable—with no hyperlink for fast entry—or counsel associated issues to look at on YouTube.
No picture search
Wish to see footage of somebody you’ve tagged in Google Pictures? Simply open Assistant and say “present me footage of [person] in Google Pictures.”
Gemini, given the identical request, says it’s incapable of doing in order a big language mannequin.
Bye-bye to a helpful information characteristic
An underappreciated Google Assistant characteristic is the day by day information briefing, which helps you to say “play the information” to listen to audio newscasts from suppliers akin to NPR and The New York Occasions. You too can say “newest information” to see a carousel of tales from Google Information.
When you ask Gemini to play the information, it gives an inventory of tips about the way you may go about listening to the information—not useful—however its cold-sweat response to “newest information” is downright comical: “I’m skilled to be as correct as doable, however I could make errors generally,” Gemini says. “Whereas I work on perfecting how I can focus on elections and politics, you may attempt Google Search.” Not useful.
No Routines
Google Assistant’s Routines characteristic enables you to automate a number of voice actions with a single voice command. It’s particularly helpful for sensible residence units, letting you management lights, switches, and door locks all of sudden.
Per Google’s documentation, Gemini is meant to assist 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 growing a neat feature called Shortcuts, which helps you to shortly accomplish actions in numerous Android apps with a voice command. For example, you may arrange Shortcuts to name an Uber, share your Google Maps location, establish a track in Shazam, or observe an train in Fitbit.
With Gemini, Google is changing that system with, effectively, nothing. Whereas Gemini has an “Extensions” system that ties into Google companies akin to YouTube and Gmail, the corporate has not introduced any plans to increase that system to third-party builders. It’s too dangerous, 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 sequence of questions in regards to 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
Surprisingly, some vestiges of Assistant stay inside Gemini, which can name on the older voice mannequin to deal with sure duties. If 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 that this distinction crucial? 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 almost definitely reply is that Google needs to be rid of Assistant completely, 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 Reside,” which permits for back-and-forth dialog and requires a $20 monthly Google One AI Premium subscription. Pixel 9 customers get a yr Gemini Reside at no cost.
However in its zeal for what it believes is the way forward for AI, Google is tossing out too many voice assistant features that already helpful at present. And whereas customers can nonetheless switch back to Google Assistant, meaning being caught with a voice assistant that’s deteriorating from neglect.
Perhaps Google wants to tear the Band-Support off in some unspecified time in the future, however it’s undoubtedly going to sting proper now.
