Google’s recent announcement of renaming Bard to Gemini and the launch of the AI chatbot app for Android and iOS in the US and English language prompted excitement. The availability of Gemini was then swiftly expanded to Android users in Asia and Europe, defying Google’s original plans and allowing users to access the new app. However, there have been reports of users encountering difficulties with accessing Gemini on certain smartphone models, while others have managed to sideload the app’s APK file to make it work.
Jack Krawczyk, the head of Gemini’s development, initially stated that the AI assistant would be available in other regions such as Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Nonetheless, Gemini’s availability widens beyond expectations, and Google is committed to adding more features to enhance its capabilities. Powered by Gemini LLM, Gemini boasts better natural language understanding and contextual awareness compared to Google Assistant, signaling a shift in Google’s strategy to replace its predecessor on Android devices in the future.
In a matter of days, Google successfully expanded the availability of Gemini to Asian and European Android users, straying away from its initial plans. Users celebrated the arrival of the AI chatbot on their smartphones, although there were reports of accessibility issues on certain models. With a newer UI and more advanced features, Gemini may indeed replace Google Assistant on Android devices, ushering in a new era of conversational AI and natural language understanding.