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 111 points 2 days 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 31 points 2 days 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 9 points 1 day 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 18 points 2 days 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 49 points 2 days 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 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Timers are literally the only thing I use it for.

[–] MaggiWuerze@feddit.org 5 points 2 days ago

Just like Google Assistant

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 35 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No fucking thanks! Gemini is garbage.

[–] sirber@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago

But Google likes garbage...

[–] shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit@sh.itjust.works 34 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days 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 26 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

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.

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[–] FireWire400@lemmy.world 30 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (5 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 6 points 1 day 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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[–] astro_plane@lemm.ee 28 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day 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 7 points 1 day ago (2 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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[–] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 27 points 2 days 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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[–] Geth@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 1 day ago (4 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 15 points 1 day 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 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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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[–] ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.com 17 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days 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 2 days ago

Works better to satisfy shareholders?

[–] Hominine@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Once again, thank goodness for GrapheneOS.

Never have I appreciated not having features so much.

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[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 15 points 1 day ago (3 children)

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

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Good thing I never used Google Assistant then.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 8 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I feel bad for visually impaired.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 days 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.

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

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[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days 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.

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[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Will they hold the power button hostage again?

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day 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.

[–] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 11 points 16 hours ago

Translation: your phone runs fine right now.... Well not anymore! Introducing more Bloatware! Your phone has never crawled like this before.

[–] eronth@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

Terrible idea. Every time I look at toggling it on just to test, it explicitly lists features that I use as ones which will be disabled by the switch.

[–] CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 10 hours ago (3 children)

collapsed inline media

When your hands are wet or you can't grab your phone....the one thing I used Google assistant for, Gemini can't do.

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[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

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

[–] PeteWheeler@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago

Home assistant

[–] Geodad@lemm.ee 7 points 2 days ago

Also except my Pixel running Graphene OS.

[–] Blaster_M@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

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

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

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 5 points 15 hours ago

I don't want that at all. Well I guess I can't use hands free anymore. Thanks google.

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