Voice assistants like Siri have always felt like a crutch, a half-step of accepting what was possible right now while knowing what could be was right around the corner. They were never quite capable enough to unify actions across multiple apps or generate truly helpful answers.
Hell, just now I asked Google Assistant, “When was the Galaxy S24 released?” Shoulda been a softball question, right? It said its number one response: “I don’t know, but I found these results on search.” Siri gave me the same bullshit non-answer, just in a more upbeat tone.
When ChatGPT was unleashed upon the public in November 2022, it was like somebody had pulled the curtains open on the future of voice assistants. Surely this technology would someday soon be integrated—or replace—voice assistants. Now, instead of peeking through a crack at the light of the future, we were staring through its window.
Among all the hubbub of news pouring out of the CES tech trade show this month, Google has only let out a meager peep about its plan to slip something wonderful into our pockets, like a reverse pickpocket visiting from the future. It’s Google Gemini, and it looks like it’s going to finally pop open that window into what we thought voice assistants could be.
two faces, two names?
Remember Gemini? It’s OK if you don’t. It hasn’t been “Gemini” for that long. Gemini used to be called Bard, until Google mercifully renamed it Gemini—a far, far catchier name, in my humble opinion—back in February 2024. Remember Bard, then?
No? Well, that’s OK, too. It kind of sucked. An also-ran lagging at the bag of the pack as ChatGPT ran away with the headlines—and our hearts. And fears, but that’s another story altogether.
Gemini has gotten a major boost in intelligence and competency in the months since, some of which were announced alongside the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025 on January 22. What got us all excited when they unveiled the Galaxy S25 lineup was that when you call upon its built-in AI assistant, it’s not Samsung’s own Bixby that answers the call by default but Google Gemini. It’s built in, right from launch, although Bixby will remain a non-default option.
The Galaxy S25 lineup isn’t the first to support Google Gemini. Much of Google’s own Pixel 8 and 9 wield it, as do the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra and Razr 50 Ultra, Xiaomi 14T and 14T Pro, and the Galaxy S24 range that began to receive some features of it post-launch last year.
So how does Gemini differ, and why should you give a damn? For one, it’s a generative, conversational AI in the vein of ChatGPT, rather than a voice assistant like Bixby, Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft Cortana, and Google Assistant.
Last week, Google announced that Gemini would now be able to work across multiple Samsung apps. You can, in one voice prompt, ask Gemini for some high-protein meal ideas and then save them directly to a note on a notes app, an example Google gives.
Gemini Live, the conversational mode akin to chatting with ChatGPT, also gained at the same time the ability to handle uploaded images, files, and YouTube videos for it to use in answering your queries and commands.
And last week, Google inked a deal with Associated Press to provide “up-to-date news” through Gemini, too, although we’ve seen lately with Apple that it hasn’t gone well at all. Might Gemini be better able to deliver news notifications that aren’t totally made-up, potentially libelous, fake news? We’ll find out, I suppose.
The post Google Gemini May Be the Hottest Thing in Smartphones This Year appeared first on VICE.
