After seeing the official launch of Gemini on the Play Store a few days ago today 9to5Google tells us about another very important step by Google. This is the arrival of the function that will allow Gemini to interact on the headphones. In essence, what we know as Google Assistant will soon respond but using Google's generative language model, namely Gemini. Here are all the details.
Expanding Gemini to headphones is Google's next step
The recent presentation of Gemini Google has focused primarily on smartphone devices, while maintaining Assistant support on smart displays, speakers, TVs, cars and Wear OS devices. However, the announcement that the Gemini mobile app is coming to the headphones marks a significant moment in the evolution of wearable technology.
By decompiling the latest version of the application uploaded by Google to the Play Store, the intention to expand the availability of Gemini clearly emerges, making it also accessible via headphones. This step represents the most explicit signal of Gemini's expansion plans, highlighting the priority given by Google to Android and iOS smartphones.
The integration of Gemini into headphones opens up the possibility of responses enhanced by generative artificial intelligence, exclusively in the audio field. Opt for headphones as a starting point, taking advantage of the possibility of fall back on the connected smartphone in case of problems, seems like a prudent choice compared to introducing it directly onto smart displays or speakers. Intact, the 9to5Google team discovered this thanks to an error message:
<string name=”assistant_onboarding_bisto_error_message”>Gemini mobile app is working on expanding availability to make it accessible on your headphones</string>
The main challenge for Google will be optimizing Gemini for headphones, particularly when it comes to length of answers. Longer responses, more easily managed on a screen, may require adaptation for use via headphones, perhaps introducing playback speed customization. It is obvious that these messages cannot be as long as the answers of ChatGPT or Bard, which in addition to answering the question posed to them, also dilute the broth to make the answer more complete.
