Google Has Quietly Made Gemini Available on Older Android Phones
Google launched the Gemini app for Android back in February, alongside its overall AI rebrand. (Gemini used to be called the Bard, if you remember.) With it, you can access Google’s artificial intelligence to perform common chatbot actions that you’d expect from a generative AI model, in addition to the ability to install Gemini as your assistant. default phone number .
However, until now, many Android phones have had the Gemini app blocked because Google has implemented the feature with a strict OS minimum: unless your smartphone is running Android 12 or later, you won’t be able to use the Gemini app. You can still access Gemini’s website, gemini.google.com , but to use any phone-level features (including, of course, replacing Google Assistant with Gemini), you’ll need to update your phone. It’s probably not worth spending money on entry if your current device works fine.
However, there is good news: everything is changing. As reported by Android Authority , Google has quietly lowered the minimum Android OS requirements for the Gemini app from Android 12 and above to Android 10 and above. AssembleDebug first discovered this change in the latest version of the app uploaded to APKMirror and reported it to Android Authority. But now the official listing of the Gemini app on the Play Store also states that it “requires Android 10 and above.” To be clear, Google’s official support page for the Gemini app still says it requires Android 12 or later (in addition to 4GB of RAM, no less), but that will likely change too.
This issue does not affect most Pixel devices as Google supports Android 12 from Pixel 3 onwards. However, if you have a Pixel 2 or an older Samsung Galaxy, OnePlus, Nokia, or any other smartphone running Android 10 or Android 11, you can at least give Gemini a chance on your device without feeling left behind.