Google’s plans to completely retire its Google Assistant software is officially under way following last week’s announcement that its AI-advanced Google Gemini will replace Google Assistant in Android smartphones by the end of 2025. This news doesn’t come as a huge shock to us, as Google has been phasing out some of its Google Assistant tasks since October 2024, however we’ve come to learn that it’s not just the best Android phones that are getting the Gemini treatment.
As well as smartphones, Google’s line of smart home assistants which includes the best smart speakers and best smart displays are also going through some changes, implying that they too will also receive a Gemini facelift. Since Gemini started supercharging Google Assistant on smart displays and speakers late last year, we could only guess that it would be a matter of time before this evolved into a complete Gemini takeover, and now it’s looking that way in light of Google’s recent decision to disable certain Google Assistant features from its smart home devices.
In order to get the ball rolling with Google’s big transition, the company is eradicating traces of Google Assistant bit by bit to make room for its more advanced Gemini software, which we guess will be fully rolled out by the end of 2025 – at least to Android smartphones. It may take a little longer for the case of Nest devices, but now that Google has removed functions such as Live Translation and Family Bell, it’s already got a leg up on making smart devices more Gemini-friendly. This isn’t to say that Gemini will have less functionality than Google Assistant, it’s simply a case of Google slowly removing one to make room for the other.
Google Photos capabilities
You’ll no longer be able to use voice commands to ask Google Assistant to favorite or share your photos, or ask specific questions regarding when and where they were taken. With that said, you’ll still be able to share them through the Google Photos app, and use your smart display to see where they were taken.
Smart display ambient screen settings
To enable photo frame settings or ambient screen settings on your Google smart display, you’ll have to refer to the Smart Display app to change these manually as Google Assistant will no longer support the voice command.
Live Translations
Since Google Assistant introduced its useful Interpreter Mode function in 2019, users have been able to translate live conversations from one language to another. This is no longer the case following Google’s decision to axe it from Assistant’s functions, however it’s still possible to translate singular words or phrases.
Birthday reminders with Routines
Routines is Google’s version of a personal task assistant which can automate tasks and actions by voice commands such as turning the lights off, playing music, or sending you notifications of important birthdays in your calendar. Google has now disabled the latter, but you can still use the Assistant voice control to set reminders about upcoming birthdays.
Family Bell announcements
Google’s Family Bell function was helpful for the whole family, allowing you to schedule reminders or announcements so that everyone in your household would be in the loop with family events.
As part of Google’s transition to integrating Gemini with smart home devices, you can no longer use Assistant to create or read your previously scheduled announcements. This was a favorite among Google smart home users, now Routines is its alternative.
Daily updates
This is a basic function, but a rather useful one that Google has just terminated. Just like you can set Alexa to give you daily updates, Assistant will no longer support voice requests such as ‘send me the weather everyday’. Instead, you’ll have to manually schedule updates when you create a custom Routine.
Google Assistant on car accessories
Google has disabled the ability to use Assistant on car accessories that support Bluetooth connection or have an AUX plug.
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