You Can Now Chat With Google’s Gemini Live on (Almost) Any Android Phone
Good news for Android fans and AI assistants: the latest Gemini Live update is now available to anyone with an Android phone set to English, without the need for a Gemini Advanced subscription. If you have Gemini for Android installed on your phone, you can start chatting with this updated assistant right away.
Here I’ll explain what’s new in Gemini Live and how you can get the most out of it. And if you’ve never heard of Gemini Live and are wondering where Google Assistant has gone, I’ll tell you too. (If you really don’t understand Google AI, you might want to talk to ChatGPT instead .)
What is Gemini Live?
Gemini is the name of Google’s newest AI-powered chatbot app and the models that use it, and Gemini Live is the newest way to interact with the app using your voice. It was announced at the launch of the Pixel 9 back in August , and was initially only available to users who paid for Gemini Advanced.
The ability to talk to Gemini on your phone isn’t new, but Gemini Live makes chatting feel more natural, just like ChatGPT’s enhanced voice mode does. For example, you can interrupt the bot mid-sentence, pause the conversation to return to it later, and choose from several “natural” voices.
Real chatbot AI is nothing new – you can still go back and see the text transcription done using the same Gemini models as before. What Gemini Live does is make it feel (to some extent) like you’re talking to a real person (obviously you’re not). It’s clearly more natural than the previous voice mode.
Which Android phones support Gemini Live?
If you can run the Gemini app on your phone, you can use Gemini Live. Google says you need a device with at least 2GB of RAM and Android 10 or later, so most phones (and tablets) in use today should qualify. If Gemini isn’t already on your phone, you’ll need to install the Android app, after which it will replace Google Assistant .
All Google apps and devices lack Google Assistant, and the . Google Assistant will remain for a while to support older devices and apps, but as Gemini gains more skills , Google will focus on this AI bot in the future.
How to talk to Gemini Live
Once Gemini is installed on your Android phone, all you have to do to talk to Gemini Live is launch the app and tap on the small sound wave icon to the right of the text field. After this, you will have access to the conversational bot. You’ll be prompted to choose a default voice, and then you can start a conversation about anything – and don’t be afraid to interrupt your AI friend if he starts to get off track.
Conversations can be paused or stopped using buttons at the bottom of the interface, and you can even switch to other apps and continue talking with Gemini (to end a call, say “Stop” or pull down the notification at the top). screen and select “End Live Mode ”.
As you’ll see in Lifehacker’s review of the Google Pixel 9 , Gemini Live is no less prone to errors and hallucinations than any other AI—just because it sounds more natural doesn’t mean it’s closer to a human. Gemini Live sometimes tells you things that are not entirely true or completely wrong, so always double-check with a reliable source before taking anything it says as gospel.
How to View Chat History Using Gemini Live
To access previous chats, tap the text bubble (top left) to view the list. Tap a chat to resume it, or tap and hold to pin it to the top of the list, rename it, or delete it.
How to change Gemini Live voice on Android
Tap your Google account picture (top right), then select Settings , and you’ll be able to switch the voice Gemini Live uses. From this menu you can also enable or disable the ability to interrupt Gemini Live.
Of course, other ways to interact with Gemini are still available. You can enter text into the hint field, upload an image or file for analysis, or press the microphone button to speak the hint, but unlike using Gemini Live, you’ll get a text chat response rather than a spoken one. (You can also switch between modes within the same chat if necessary.)