Gemini is taking over Android, and it is a good-nay-great thing. Perhaps the best use of Gemini is as a replacement for Google Assistant. Considered the best digital helper at one time, Gemini absolutely wipes the floor with Google Assistant even considering the possibility that the LLM AI chatbox consumed some mushrooms and might hallucinate every now and then. You can take deep dives with Gemini into your queries and get the kind of answers that Google Assistant couldn't bring you. And yes, boys and girls, Gemini will now set your alarm and timer.
"Hey Google" should be changed to "Hey Gemini"
As cool as this all is, and I think using AI as an assistant is really cool, I still have to use the "Hey Google" hotword to activate Gemini on my Pixel. Would it be too much to ask if we could say, "Hey Gemini," or "Hello Gemini" to request the Gemini overlay? Not only does it make more sense, but it also is a great way to promote Gemini. The only people who will continue to use Google Assistant are those Luddites who keep reading about AI and think that we are writing about a steak sauce.
Android users with a question that they need to get answered before they explode or have a tune they must get the name of before they end up going nuts, tap on the Google Search bar at the top of the Google app, the Pixel launcher or in search results, and type in their question. That is a pain in the derriere if your query is long-winded. And since you can hum a song or a riff to find out the name of the tune, how can you do that by typing? Someone I know tried to find out the name of the Knack's hit "My Sharona" by typing "Ditdaditdaditdit ditdit ditadadaditdit Dadadadaditdit My Sharona."
The new UI has aspects of AI Mode, Search Live, and the new Google Lens redesign
Obviously, typing your long queries and requesting a song title by humming the tune works better when using your voice. When you use your voice to ask your question, you tap the microphone icon on the search bar. Four dots appear in the Google colors (blue, red, yellow, green) that turn into vertical lines, and the word "Listening " appears above the animation of a bodyless face talking. Voice search results are spoken aloud and appear in the search results page. Many, including this writer, are happy that Google is getting rid of that ridiculous-looking face moving its mouth to match your voice input.
The old UI on the left and the new one in the middle and on the right. | Image credit-9to5Google
If you have a tune in your head that you want to know the name of, tapping the microphone icon and then the shortcut button on the bottom that says "Search a song" will open a page with a wavy ball made up of dots in the Google colors. All of this has been redesigned by Google. With a voice search, tapping the microphone in the Google Search bar now opens a page with the iconic "G" logo on the top center with the question "What's on your mind? underneath. On the bottom is an arc. Merely ask you question and listen for the response.
Do you like the new look?
Yes I do. The bodyless face freaks me out.
50%
No. I prefer the current look.
0%
I really don't care.
50%
The aforementioned "Search a song" shortcut is used to open the redesigned UI. Instead of seeing a ball of dots, the new UI gives you directions to follow with three words stacked up one on top of the other: Play, Sing, Hum. Do one of the three for the tune in your mind and you'll find out the name of the song that your brain can't get rid of.
Google Voice Search launched in 2008
So far, the rollout has been very limited with the new UI failing to show up on my Pixel 6 Pro running the latest Android 16 QPR2 beta release. Considering that some Android users have received it, and others haven't, Google could be waiting to get some feedback before it widely disseminates the new UI.
Google launched voice search on Android all the way back in November 2008 with the release of Android 1.1. It was a feature on the Google Search widget available for the "Google Experience" phones which had a clean, stock version of Android that came directly from Google. Officially, the Nexus One was the first Google Experience phone which was designed by HTC and developed by Google.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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