The Android colonization of Gemini is almost complete. Soon, users may need to get used to speaking a brand new phrase to access their phone's assistant. Code strings were found in the latest Android update support for “Hey Gemini” and “Hey Google”, as if Google thought you would rather talk to a chatbot than the company that made the phone.
Earlier this week, Android Code Sleuth Shiv (aka AssemblyDebug) found a code string in the beta version of the Google App, suggesting that “Hey Gemini” can work side by side with “Hey Google” as an assistant Android Wake Word. There is a missing word in the string, but it is judged only based on the company's Android XR announcement, in the video, the user asks “Hey Gemini” for “Hey Gemini” before receiving the voice response generated by the AI.
Android has enabled Gemini to spend all consumer assistants. Saying “Hey Google” has brought up Gemini, a move that will only help close the door to the old assistant model. These two voice commands can run against each other, but with Google's efforts to promote Gemini, we can imagine Google promoting new wake words in all promotions, slowly phased out the “Hey Google” dictionary ”.
It's not clear whether and when Google will introduce this change, although we hope it will be relatively fast. We already have the Google I/O 2025 date for May 20. We also saw signs of the Google Pixel 9a, which includes now-deleted YouTube videos. Last year's I/O was fully included in Gemini News. Any of these upcoming product presentations can also use the emergence of “Hey Gemini” as an additional marketing strategy to enable more users to purchase tickets on the AI Hype Train.
Gemini and Android are actually synonyms, and over time, the two forms will only get entangled. Earlier this month, Google made Gemini look as if you were talking to it on the phone, while minimizing the Gemini real-time interface. The recent Gemini 2.0 update adds more image and video comprehension features to Gemini Live. These are the first steps to bring it to the features promised by Google DeepMind Project Astra.
Most importantly, Google needs more people to use Gemini, whether it is because they want it or have no choice. A Wall Street Journal report in January cited an internal conversation from Google, showing the number of Chatgpt users CEO Sundar Pichai wants Gemini to beat Openai. Chatgpt on mobile devices has about 400 million active users per week on Android and iOS, according to a Reuters report. According to sensor tower data, Gemini is still much lower in the list of the most downloaded apps. Even if Gemini is on iOS, it isn't as popular as Google's home court.
That's why Google offers a long Gemini subscription when buying Chromebook Plus models, such as Chromebook Plus models. Google is trying damn it, making you think about Gemini on Android all the time. Just like the recent Samsung Galaxy S25 phones, we hope the next Android update will focus on cross-app features.
