Gemini Live is now free for all Android users as Google begins the mass rollout of its impressive AI-powered voice assistant.
Previously, Gemini Live was only available as part of Google’s paid Gemini Advanced subscription, which cost $20 (£18.99, AU$30). Now, Android users will be able to use the voice assistant for free, but you’ll need to be patient as not all users have access just yet.
Gemini Live is a competitor to ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode as well as the upcoming Siri redesign, powered by Apple Intelligence on the best iPhones.
TechRadar’s Senior Editor, AI, Graham Barlow, has been using Gemini Live for a few weeks now and had this to say about Google’s human-sounding AI companion: “Finally, I can chat with my phone as if it were a real person, which is all I’ve ever wanted to do since voice assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa became a thing.”
Yes, the monthly subscription gives you access to other perks like 2 TB of cloud storage and access to Gemini 1.5 Pro, Google’s most advanced AI model. However, most casual AI users will have upgraded to Gemini Advanced to try the new swanky Gemini Live voice assistant, which was first demoed at Google’s Pixel event in August.
If you own a compatible Android device like the brand-new Google Pixel 9 or Google Pixel 9 Pro, you can access Gemini Live by simply launching Google Gemini and hitting the Live icon in the bottom right corner. Some of TechRadar’s UK team are yet to see Live in the Gemini app, so if it doesn’t appear yet, be patient and check back regularly.
Want to read about Gemini Live? Check out our Pixel 9 Pro review.
Siri 2.0 vs Gemini Live
Just this week, Apple announced the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro with A18 and A18 Pro chips ready for Apple Intelligence. Apple’s AI tools will arrive over the coming months but we’ll need to wait until 2025 to try some of the most anticipated Apple Intelligence features like Siri 2.0. The major update to Siri with on-screen awareness is set to rival Gemini and Gemini Live as smartphone companies enter into an AI-focused battle, trying to prove who has the best software to help you in your day-to-day tasks.
Until then, Gemini and its host of powers including Gemini Live is the best use of AI we’ve seen on a smartphone yet. If you’re interested to hear more about Apple Intelligence and the future of iPhone as it looks to compete with Google’s offering, read our early hands-on iPhone 16 review.
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john-anthony.disotto@futurenet.com (John-Anthony Disotto)
