Google has just announced that the Gemini AI stack is coming to your Wear OS smartwatch, and a bunch of other screens in your life, such as your car’s infotainment dashboard and smart TV. With the move, the company is bringing down the curtain on Google Assistant across its device ecosystem.
Gemini is already a part of the core Android experience, deeply integrated across the Workspace ecosystem of apps and even third-party platforms such as WhatsApp and Spotify. With Gemini making its way to Wear OS, Android Auto, and TV, users will have a more seamless experience and a wider variety of screens to get work done.
Gemini on smartwatches
Google says Gemini on Wear OS smartwatches will essentially fill the gap for scenarios when you don’t have a phone handy. The generative AI assistant will make its way to smartwatches in the coming months, though Google hasn’t clarified the hardware or software baseline for the transition.
Gemini on smartwatches will let users perform a wide range of tasks, such as setting reminders, accessing data from Google platforms such as Gmail, pulling details from Maps, and more. It will understand context and offer memory capabilities, as well, just the way it handles conversations on mobiles and desktops.
Moreover, Gemini on Wear OS will be able to extract information from different apps in a single query. The biggest benefit is the enhanced natural language understanding and conversational capabilities of Gemini, especially compared to Google Assistant.
AI on every screen in your life
In addition to smartwatches, the Gemini experience is also making its way to Android Auto and cars with Google built-in. Once again, the biggest highlights are enhanced conversational capabilities and contextual understanding offered by the next-gen AI assistant.
“Instead of focusing on the perfect prompt or tapping the right button, you can stay focused on the road ahead,” says the company, adding that hands-free interactions will receive a huge boost. For example, it can help with route planning, give you a summary of daily news, summarize articles or books, and more.
The biggest upgrade will be handling communications. Gemini can connect to the messaging apps installed on your phone, allowing the AI to summarize and translate them without asking users to press or tap on an on-screen button. Gemini will also handle the response via voice dictation or generate a reply, as well.
Gemini will first arrive on Android Auto in the coming weeks, followed by vehicles rocking the Cars with Google Built-in label. In the months that follow, the AI assistant will also make its way to TVs, too.
“With Gemini on Google TV, you can ask for action movies that are age-appropriate for your kids, and get the best recommendations,” says Google. On TVs, Gemini will tap more into its knowledge bank and let users ask questions not just about the entertainment content on their TV screen, but other general topics, as well.
Finally, we have the budding Android XR platform, which is soon going to find a home on Samsung’s high-end headset and smart glasses later this year. On XR devices that offer an immersive spatial computing layout, Gemini will spread its response across multiple floating screens.
For example, if you ask it to plan a heritage walk, it will show relevant material on screens with a map overview, information pulled from the internet, and videos from YouTube. Gemini will also expand to wireless earbuds sold by third-party labels such as Samsung and Sony.
