What you need to know
- Gemini could replace Google Assistant on Wear OS devices.
- A new APK teardown of the Google App’s beta version shows how Google plans to roll out this feature this year.
- It’s unclear when this will roll out or if it will include extensions and support for Gemini Live.
Google seems to be working on its AI promises to integrate Gemini into everyday life as it slowly replaces Google Assistant on your phone altogether.
Now, it looks like Google is preparing to take it a step further. According to a recent APK teardown of the Google App’s latest beta, version 16.0.5, it looks like the tech giant is bringing Gemini’s capabilities to your wrist via Wear OS. This would help users to “easily talk back and forth to get more done with an assistant on your watch, reimagined with Google AI,” according to code discovered by 9to5Google.
What this essentially means is that you wouldn’t have to pull out your phone, and you could have a natural flow of conversation with your Wear OS watch through what we assume is Gemini (although it’s unclear if this will include Gemini Live). Any time you need to look up restaurants nearby, check on the weather, or navigate through heavy traffic, users can simply say, “Hey, Google,” and Gemini would respond.
However, it also remains unclear if the watch will give users visual feedback for their queries. But the strings on this beta update definitely give us hope that “easier” times are ahead.
It remains to be seen when users will get this Wear OS update — presumably through an update to the Google app sometime in the near future or via a major platform update. Android Central has contacted Google about the possibility of Gemini Live on Wear OS and will update this article once we have more information.
Meanwhile, other updates that you might see from the Google app beta on Android phones include (per APKMirror) using voice commands while navigating, even when there’s no network on your device. It will also be easier to access privacy settings from the home screen by tapping your Google Account profile picture.