this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2025
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We’re upgrading Google Assistant users on mobile to Gemini, offering a new kind of help only possible with the power of AI.

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[–] AnAmericanPotato@programming.dev 103 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Gemini might be good at something, but I'll never know because it is bad at all the things I have ever used the assistant for. If it's good at anything at all, it's something I don't need or want.

Looking forward to 2027 when Google Gemini is replaced by Google Assistant (not to be confused with today's Google Assistant, totally different product).

[–] marsokod@lemmy.world 28 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Seriously, I tried Gemini for a while but it is mostly useless. It can it open my apps, cannot control Home Assistant, cannot send a message to someone.

[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 4 points 15 hours ago

Yeah, it has a total lack of any of the integrations that made Assistant actually useful.

Even if an LLM offers meaningful improvements on the core conversational elements of Assistant, launching it without all the needed integrations is idiotic and completely hamstrings the functionality.

[–] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago

I swapped to Gemini for a month or two. Kept thinking to myself "maybe I'm not speaking clearly," and other justifications. Turns out it just sucks. Now I just do everything manually. Fuck em.

[–] madcaesar@lemmy.world 43 points 1 day ago (1 children)

🤣 Gemini is the worst of all the ais. It can't even do the most basic shit like set reminders.

Google has fallen so hard. They are just pure ad garbage now.

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Timers are literally the only thing I use it for.

[–] MaggiWuerze@feddit.org 5 points 1 day ago

Just like Google Assistant

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 32 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No fucking thanks! Gemini is garbage.

[–] sirber@lemmy.ca 4 points 15 hours ago

But Google likes garbage...

[–] shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I use Google Assistant a lot. I tried the Gemini Assistant on my phone and it was an exercise in frustration.

Me: (after pausing the tv) "Resume TV"

Google: (resumes playback on TV)

Gemini: "TV not recognised. Please say the device name" or even worse... "A resume is essential when you're looking for a job in television. Your resume should blah blah..."


Me: (with phone locked) "set a timer for xxx"

Google: "setting a timer for xxx, starting now"

Gemini: "I'm unable to set timers, please unlock your phone, open xxx and (lengthy step by step instructions)", or "setting a timer for yyy" (completely wrong time).

[–] heavydust@sh.itjust.works 23 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

They activated Gemini at work to auto-complete stuff in emails. I work in IT, and I was not aware of that. I was typing the sentence "we will need some help" and was about to add "in the project blah blah" but Gemini came with its amazing auto-completion and added something like "in the street where they sell sausages".

AI was a mistake, and I didn't use it since that day. Waste of time, waste of everything.

[–] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 25 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I got the change and immediately put it back to Google assistant. I don't want AI. I want to tell my phone when to set my alarm clock.

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[–] astro_plane@lemm.ee 22 points 1 day ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

If this is pushed through a silent update then I'll use adb to remove it. I don't need a useless ai assistant hogging precious memory.

I feel bad for for the folks who have their phone gimped overnight and they won't have no clue why. So many people with older phones are going to need to upgrade because of this forced update. Talk about e-waste.

[–] Routhinator@startrek.website 3 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

It probably already is. AICore is a service thats been getting snuck on the andoids for a couple of months, ever since AndroidSystemSafety was push on silently, which is effectively like recall and scans all your photos and files in the background.

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[–] Geth@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 19 hours ago (3 children)

I find Gemini has better communication and comprehension ability compared with assistant, but can do even less when it comes to controlling the phone. No reminders, no calendar events, no messages, no integration with anything. Just talking.

I would have preferred assistant talk and understand better, instead of a completly gimped alternative that does that and nothing more.

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 10 points 18 hours ago (4 children)

Integrations with the phone's functionality is key. I don't care how clever the brain is, it needs to talk to the rest of the body.

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[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 14 hours ago

Exactly, and maybe I'm a outlier, but I have no intention of speaking to my device like it's a human. Ever.

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[–] FireWire400@lemmy.world 17 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (3 children)

Gemini is hardly an uprade to Assistant, though. Gemini can't do any task automation (aka the one thing Google Assistant could do) because it's a LLM that most likely doesn't even 'know' that it's being run on a phone....

They already fucked up assistant so bad that it can't even set timers anymore... )):

[–] Quexotic@infosec.pub 3 points 12 hours ago

Yes. This is why I've disabled it repeatedly when it supplants my assistant.

If they remove automation, well, that was the one thing standing between me and de-googling.

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[–] Hominine@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Once again, thank goodness for GrapheneOS.

Never have I appreciated not having features so much.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 14 hours ago

Seriously considering this for my next phone. I currently have a Pixel 6, so I'm thinking I'll get another Pixel, try grapheneOS on the 6 to get comfortable with it, before doing it to the new phone.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Good thing I never used Google Assistant then.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 7 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I feel bad for visually impaired.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Astute point, they're throwing the baby out with the bathwater here and hurting the disabled community to push their inferior product that nobody really asked for.

Just because I don't use it doesn't mean others who need it also don't.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 3 points 1 day ago

It happens, we forget the sheet diversity of experiences because we're human. I try to have multiperspectivity, but even that is limited to one's own experiences and imaginative abilities, on the best days.

I feel jealous for the hearing impaired. Just think of everyone and they're dog showing off how dumb it is all the time.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 14 hours ago

Or people who don't have, or have lost, motor function in their hands.

[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I actually use it a bunch for setting reminders and it does pretty good at that.

For sure, but I am also capable of doing that with my thumbs.... which is what I do.

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 3 points 13 hours ago

Same here. Really looking forward to not using their new product. How exciting.

[–] ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.com 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Google Assistant: Let's build a product around functionality.

Gemini: Let's build functionality around a product.

Any guess which method works better?

[–] BossDj@lemm.ee 5 points 1 day ago

Works better to satisfy shareholders?

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Will they hold the power button hostage again?

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 12 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

Well, too bad, i have replaced Google on my phone.

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[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Is there a viable replacement to google assistant that's self hosted or local?

[–] PeteWheeler@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

Home assistant

[–] Blaster_M@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Gemini eats glue. We need a much more reliable model to replace Assistant.

[–] Geodad@lemm.ee 7 points 1 day ago

Also except my Pixel running Graphene OS.

Is there a tradein program to get my old phone back?

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 6 points 7 hours ago

I have no idea of the difference other than I feel slightly like a downgrade when I cant do simple things that Inused to be able to. The biggest difference isnlikely to be my privacy and data.

Google on tap was all I needed and they have removed and it readded it multiple times...it is currently the only gemini feature I use. And its not a gemini feature.

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