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Tech News and Commentary
Dave and Chris discuss FireTV and the Vega OS, the FTC vs Uber, TV viewing habits, the cost of being nice to Ai, and more.
Tim in Greenville, South Carolina asked: “I heard a caller a couple weeks ago ask about whether or not Google was going to do away with Google Assistant and force Gemini on us. I use Google Assistant on my watch when I’m working out and when I’m driving. Do you think Google will keep Assistant for wearables or for while driving since it’s a more command-centered user experience and we’re not asking for any special things that Gemeni would need to come up with? I want my watch to remind me of thoughts I have while on the treadmill. I want my car to take me to a specific location. Just give me Google Assistant for Android Auto and Google Watch. Please. Otherwise – and it seems blasphemous to say it – I’ll have to switch to iPhone because Siri has no problem setting reminders, playing music, doing the stuff you want. And I don’t think Apple is going to be doing away with Siri anytime soon.”
Tim, Gemini is definitely coming for your watch and car too.
This is straight from Googles own blog at blog.google.com:
Over the coming months, were upgrading more users on mobile devices from Google Assistant to Gemini; and later this year, the classic Google Assistant will no longer be accessible on most mobile devices, or available for new downloads on mobile app stores.
Additionally, well be upgrading tablets, cars and devices that connect to your phone, such as headphones and watches, to Gemini.
After that it goes on to mention smart speakers and TVs too.
The long and short of it is that Google wants to fully replace Google Assistant with Gemini everywhere it can and quickly as it can.
Having said that, youre right, Siri is not going away any time soon, but thats mainly because Apple is not rebranding the feature but instead theyre talking about a smarter Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence, so -iPhone or Android- youre likely going to be on the same boat on this one.
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