Google's Gemini Live: Free Voice AI Assistant Now Available for Android Users

Gemini Live now available for all Android phones in 6 languages - for free

Want a voice assistant you can have natural conversations with? If you're on Android, you're in luck. In September, Google announced that all English-speaking Gemini mobile app users on Android would get access to Gemini Live, allowing them to have free-flowing conversations with the assistant whenever they'd like. Now, the Gemini Live rollout is complete -- it's available for free on all Android phones. Also: Copilot Voice beats Gemini Live and ChatGPT's Voice Mode in one big way On Tuesday, Google announced via an X post that Live is now available for all Gemini users in English on the Android app, ending the gradual rollout that began last month. Google later updated Gemini Live to support more languages: Dutch, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Hindi. If you want to change the language you talk to Gemini in, click Settings > Google Assistant > Languages. Google first unveiled Gemini Live, a conversational AI-powered assistant that can be interrupted, have multi-turn conversations, and revisit conversations later, in May. Since its launch, Gemini Live has only been available to Gemini Advanced users, requiring a $20 monthly membership to access. Now, free users have been looped in, too. Also: OpenAI lets developers build real-time voice apps - at a substantial premium Access to Gemini Live is entirely free for Android users since they will no longer need to subscribe to the Gemini One AI Premium plan to access it, and downloading the app from the Google Play Store is free. There is no Gemini app for iOS, and as a result, those users will not be able to participate in the experience. This is particularly noteworthy because ChatGPT's equivalent feature, the new Voice Mode, is currently only rolling out to paid subscribers, including ChatGPT Plus users, who pay a $20 monthly subscription. Eventually, both Gemini Live and OpenAI's Voice Mode will be able to use the phone's camera to give the voice assistant context of the user's surroundings to inform responses. However, neither company has given a clear date for when the visual component of the feature will launch. To access Gemini Live, make sure your Gemini app is updated and then open it like you regularly would. If you see the waveform icon at the bottom left of your app screen, pictured below, you have Gemini Live access. Once you click on it, you will see a walkthrough of how to use the feature. If you don't see it, try updating your Gemini app. If you are an Apple user experiencing a bit of FOMO, no worries. In May, Apple also unveiled Apple Intelligence, its collection of AI features that will be infused into the Apple device experience, and one of the new features is a smarter Siri. Also: Google's AI podcast tool transforms your text into stunningly lifelike audio - for free Apple Intelligence will be part of iOS 18.1, which is coming later this month. However, only users with the A17 chip and higher, found in the iPhone 15 Pro and all succeeding models, can experience Apple Intelligence in its entirety. Some of the new Apple Intelligence features will roll out in October, with others will follow at a later date, possibly early next year. Apple users can also use Copilot Voice, Microsoft's take on an AI-powered voice assistant available to all users for free. The conversational capabilities are just as impressive and accessible within the Copilot app on iOS and Android now.

Google just quietly upgraded Gemini Advanced customers to a better version of its AI

If you're a subscriber to Gemini Advanced then you might not have noticed but Google just quietly upgraded you to version 1.5 Pro-002 of its LLM, which is good news, because it's much faster and more powerful than the previous version. This new version 1.5 of Gemini Pro is optimized for chat and now provides better and more accurate responses for prompts related to math and exploring complex topics that invite thoughtful conversation. Effectively this means that you can now provide multi-step instructions without Gemini becoming confused about what you mean. Google also claims the new AI is more helpful, and better at providing relevant information and informative responses. It's also faster, so you don't have to wait as long for a response. ChatGPT recently released an o1-preview LLM model to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, which had much better ability at math, and it will be interesting to compare how it performs to the new Gemini Pro 1.5. Gemini is the universal name for Google's LLM family, and it comes in four versions: a Pro version for Gemini Advanced subscribers, which costs $20 a month (£18.99/AU$32.99), and is the best-performing model. Flash, which is the smallest, most cost-effective multimodal mode (and what free tier users get by default). Nano, which is the version you can find embedded on smartphones, for on-device processing. Finally, there's Ultra, which is its largest model and designed for highly complex tasks. You used to need a subscription to Gemini Advanced to use Gemini Live - the AI Assistant found on Google Pixel phones that you could talk to using your voice, but Google recently dropped the requirement and made it free for all Android users. Gemini Live doesn't use the more powerful Gemini Pro 1.5 LLM though, since that remains reserved for Gemini Advanced subscribers. Google isn't the only AI company that's upping its game and improving its AI smarts. ChatGPT recently started to roll out Advanced Voice Mode to its paid-for ChatGPT Plus subscribers and Microsoft has just launched a new, rebranded version of Copilot, its own AI that has a voice mode you can use entirely for free. The web-based version of Copilot is still rolling out, but to try Copilot now just download the Copilot app on your smartphone. While Google's Gemini Live is free to all Android owners who can run it on their smartphones, Microsoft has responded by making Copilot's voice mode free to anybody who can run the Copilot app, even on iOS devices. That means iOS users can get their first taste of a voice-activated AI before Siri gets its own proper AI smarts, which should be coming soon. Of course, the real value of an AI assistant is its ability to integrate with all your other apps, like your calendar and inbox, so it can do more useful things for you. These features are still coming to Gemini and aren't here yet, but a general voice chat with AI, both Google Gemini Live and Microsoft Copilot are currently leading the way.

Gemini Live is finally available for all Android phones - how to access it for free

Want a voice assistant you can have natural conversations with? You may not need to pay for ChatGPT's Voice Mode. In September, Google announced that all English-speaking Gemini mobile app users on Android would get access to Gemini Live, allowing them to have free-flowing conversations with the assistant whenever they'd like. Now, the Gemini Live rollout is complete -- it's available for free on all Android phones. On Tuesday, Google announced via an X post that Live is now available for all Gemini users in English on the Android app, ending the gradual rollout that began last month. Google first unveiled Gemini Live, a conversational AI-powered assistant that can be interrupted, have multi-turn conversations, and revisit conversations later, in May. Since its launch, Gemini Live has only been available to Gemini Advanced users, requiring a $20 monthly membership to access. Now, free users have been looped in, too. Also: What's new in Windows 11 24H2, and when will your PC get it? The new update makes access to Gemini Live entirely free to Android users since they will no longer need to subscribe to the Gemini One AI Premium plan to access it, and downloading the app from the Google Play Store is free. There is no Gemini app for iOS, and as a result, those users will not be able to participate in the experience. This is particularly noteworthy because ChatGPT's equivalent feature, the new Voice Mode, is currently only rolling out to paid subscribers, including ChatGPT Plus users, who pay a $20 monthly subscription. Eventually, both Gemini Live and OpenAI's Voice Mode will be able to use the phone's camera to give the voice assistant context of the user's surroundings to inform responses. However, neither company has given a clear date for when the visual component of the feature will launch. Also: Google's new Chromebook Plus AI features could give Windows Copilot a run for its money To see if you have access to Gemini Live, make sure your Gemini app is updated and then open it like you regularly would. If you see the waveform icon at the bottom left of your app screen, you have Gemini Live access. Once you click on it, you will see a walkthrough of how to use the feature. If you don't see it, try updating your Gemini app. If you are an Apple user experiencing a bit of FOMO, no worries. In May, Apple also unveiled Apple Intelligence, its collection of AI features that will be infused into the Apple device experience, and one of the new features is a smarter Siri. Also: Best early Prime Day phone deals to shop in October 2024 Apple Intelligence will be part of iOS 18.1, which is coming later this month. However, only users with the A17 chip and higher, found in the iPhone 15 Pro and all succeeding models, can experience Apple Intelligence in its entirety. Some of the new Apple Intelligence features will roll out in October, with others will follow at a later date, possibly early next year.

Gemini 1.5 Pro wants to help you explore topics with 'thoughtful conversations'

Gemini AI's split screen support is now rolling out to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Key Takeaways Gemini 1.5 Pro-002 can handle deeper discussions and more complex math equations than the previous model. Benchmark tests show a 7% increase in reasoning abilities and 20% in math skills, plus increases in coding skills. Gemini 1.5 Pro-002 is only available for Pro users, and is live now on all accounts. Google has got you covered if your social circle lacks the math and reasoning skills your intellect craves. That's thanks to the latest update to Gemini 1.5 Pro, which can handle more complex topics and mathematical problems. There's no better excuse to stay in on a Friday night. Related Google Gemini: Everything you need to know about Google's next-gen multimodal AI Google Gemini is here, with a whole new approach to multimodal AI Gemini 1.5 Pro-002 is the next-gen version of Google's powerful AI for paying subscribers (via 9to5Google). This update brings more powerful abilities and can better handle deep, ethical discussions along with mind-boggling math equations. It is live right now for paying customers. Big increases in benchmark tests Source: Google The 1.5 Pro-002 model is based on a chat optimized version that was released to developers just a week ago. Google claims this new version shows a 7% increase in performance on the MMLU-Pro benchmark test, which challenges an AI's reasoning abilities. It showed a 20% increase in math skills on the MATH and HiddenMath benchmark tests. Google also said it showed a significant improvement in coding skills. These increases should translate into more meaningful conversations for users. Google wants Gemini to "explore complex topics and invite thoughtful conversation." Google credits user feedback and continuous model training for this leap forward in artificial intelligence. Google Gemini has been upgraded a few times since it opened to the public last year, and it has become smarter and more capable with each update. Google added Gems back in August, which are custom chatbots users can tweak for a variety of uses. There was a big update in May, when Gemini Pro became more capable. It was only in February that Google ended Bard and Gemini took over. Since then, Gemini gets better and better, for both free users and the pros. Now the latest update is out of beta and working on Pro accounts. This comes just after Gemini Live rolled out last week for all Android users, opening up the ability to chat with the AI using voice, just like a real person. Free users will have to settle for the less-smart version of Gemini for now. Only the big spenders get the big brains.

You Can Now Talk to Google's Gemini Live on (Almost) Any Android Phone

Gemini Live gives you a choice of voices to pick from. Credit: Google Good news, fans of Android and AI assistants: The latest Gemini Live upgrade is now available to everyone with an Android phone set to use English, with no need for a Gemini Advanced subscription. As long as you've got Gemini for Android installed on your phone, you can start chatting with this upgraded assistant right away. Here I'll explain what's new with 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, then I've got you covered as well. (If you're really not into Google AI, meanwhile, you could talk to ChatGPT instead.) What is Gemini Live? Gemini is the name of both Google's latest AI-powered chatbot app and the models that run it, and Gemini Live is the newest way to interact with the app using your voice. It was announced at the Pixel 9 launch back in August, and was originally only available to users paying for Gemini Advanced. The ability to talk to Gemini on your phone isn't new, but Gemini Live makes the chat experience more natural, in the same way as the Advanced Voice mode on ChatGPT does. For example, you can interrupt the bot mid-sentence, you can pause conversations to come back to them later, and you can choose from several different "natural" voices. The actual AI underneath the chatbot is nothing new -- you can still go back and view text transcriptions run through the same Gemini models as before. What Gemini Live does is make it feel (somewhat) more like you're talking to an actual person (you're not, obviously). It's distinctly more natural than the previous voice mode. What Android phones support Gemini Live? If you can run the Gemini app on your phone, you can use Gemini Live. Google says that you need a device with at least 2GB of RAM and Android 10 or up, so the majority of the phones (and tablets) in use today should qualify. If Gemini isn't already on your phone, you'll need to install the Android app, at which point it will replace Google Assistant. Across Google's apps and devices, Google Assistant is out, and the more natural and powerful Google Gemini is in. Google Assistant will stay around for a while to support older devices and apps, but as Gemini picks up more skills, it's the AI bot Google will focus on in the future. How to talk to Gemini Live Once Gemini is installed on your Android phone, all you need to do to talk to Gemini Live is to launch the app and tap on the small sound wave icon to the right of the text box. You'll then get access to the conversational bot. You'll be asked to choose a default voice, and you can then start a conversation about anything you like -- and don't be afraid to interrupt your AI friend if it starts going off track. Conversations can be paused or stopped using the buttons down at the bottom of the interface, and you can even switch away to different apps and keep on talking with Gemini (to end the conversation, say "stop" or pull down the notification at the top of the screen and choose End Live mode). As you'll see in Lifehacker's Google Pixel 9 review, Gemini Live is no less susceptible to mistakes and hallucinations than any other AI -- just because it sounds more natural doesn't mean it's any closer to being human. Gemini Live will sometimes tell you things that are not quite right, or completely wrong, so always double-check with a reliable source before taking anything it says as gospel. How to see your chat history with Gemini Live To access previous chats, tap the speech bubble (top left) to see the list. Tap on 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's voice on Android Tap your Google account picture (top right) then choose Settings, and you're able to switch the voice that Gemini Live uses. In this menu, you can also turn the ability to interrupt Gemini Live on or off. The other ways of interacting with Gemini are still available of course. You can type in the prompt box, upload an image or file for analysis, or tap the microphone button to speak out your prompt -- but unlike when using Gemini Live, you'll get a text chat in response, rather than a spoken one. (You can also switch between modes in the same chat if you need to.)

Gemini Live is now freely available to everyone

Everyone can now chat with Google's AI assistant. Credit: Google Google's Gemini Live is now freely available for everyone using Google's Gemini app in English, the company announced on Monday. Originally, Gemini Live was launched at the Pixel 9 event, but was originally available only for Pixel 9 devices, and it required a Gemini advanced subscription. In September, the company started rolling it out to a subset of Android users, and now it should be available to all users. Gemini Live is a voice conversation feature for Google's smart assistant Gemini, allowing users to chat with Gemini for as long as they like. It offers a number of different voice options, and is better at handling features of actual conversations such as pauses and interruptions. It also has context retention, meaning it will remember previous interactions, making subsequent conversations more meaningful. Google's Gemini app is only available for Android right now. It's not inconceivable, however, that it one day comes to Apple's iOS as well. Apple's Craig Federighi mentioned the possibility in June, saying that Gemini is "maybe" coming to iOS in the future, along with other AI models.

Google Gemini Live now available to all Android users -- here's how to get access

Google has announced that Gemini Live is rolling out for all Android users via the Gemini app, for free. Google originally launched the Gemini Live assistant alongside the Google Pixel 9 series. The new assistant is faster than the standard Gemini and offers a more intuitive and immersive experience. It's definitely more conversational. Thhe updated assistant was stated to be available to Gemini Advance subscribers initially, then released to other models. It looks like Android users won't have to wait any longer as Google has announced on X that the Gemini Live rollout is here. Note that it's only possible to download the US English version currently. Although you can select different accents, including the British "Capella." So now is a great time to try out Google's improved AI assistant. To access Gemini Live, you'll want to do the following: Our own Richard Priday had a chance to test out Gemini Live over 24 hours recently and had a lot of good things to say about the feature. While there were some issues with the Gemini Advanced model giving out of date or incorrect advice, Gemini Live actually impressed. The AI's ability to hold continued conversations was a marked improvement over other text-based assistants. Google rolling out Gemini live to Android users for free is great to see, and to get the best experience you should be using one of the best Android phones. Let us know in the comments what you think of Gemini Live once you've had a chance to try it.