- Google Gemini has six new iPhone lock screen widgets
- Gemini also has new iPhone Control Center shortcuts
- The widgets include instant access to voice input, image recognition, and file analysis
Google just made it a whole lot easier to talk to Gemini on an iPhone, even before it’s unlocked. The Gemini app now offers widgets for iPhone lock screens and Control Center, making it feel less like a third-party chatbot and more like a built-in feature of iOS.
The six new lock screen widgets provide instant access to a different Gemini function. Before this update, getting to Gemini meant unlocking your phone, finding and opening to the app, and then choosing what you wanted to do. While hardly an ordeal, it wasn’t exactly seamless. Now, though, you can jump straight into the action with a single tap.
The “Type Prompt” widget lets you quickly fire off a question to Gemini without opening the full app. Need a quick answer on whether penguins have knees? Now, you can find out without disrupting whatever else you are doing. “Talk Live” is similarly handy, letting you dive straight into a real-time conversation with Gemini, skipping the previous extra step of launching the chat first.
The “Open Mic” option is perfect for when your hands are full, but you suddenly remember you need to set a reminder, schedule a meeting, or ask Gemini to draft an email. If you’re the kind of person who frequently thinks of to-do list items at the worst possible times, this could save you from the familiar cycle of “I’ll remember that later” and then, inevitably, forgetting.
There are also camera-based features that turn Gemini into an on-demand visual search engine. The “Use Camera” widget lets you snap a photo and ask questions about what’s in front of you, which is great for identifying mysterious ingredients in your fridge or confirming that the spider in your bathroom is probably harmless. The “Share Image” and “Share File” options let you upload existing media for Gemini to analyze, whether you want more information, some creative inspiration, or just someone (or something) to acknowledge your latest masterpiece.
If you’d rather make Gemini more invisible, you can set the shortcuts to the corner buttons where the flashlight and camera buttons usually reside. You can also make them part of Control Center, allowing you to swipe down in iOS to see them. Google seems eager to make Gemini feel more at home on your iPhone than Siri, frankly.
Gemini iPhone
It’s also notable that Gemini’s attempt to fit in on the iPhone comes as Apple is working to rework Siri for the new AI age. As that complete retooling hasn’t arrived yet, Google might be trying to get iPhone users used to Gemini before Siri’s AI makeover debuts.
It also sets the stage for a new kind of rivalry among AI assistants. Rather than being relegated to an app you visit when you remember it exists, AI is becoming a more immediate, everyday presence. With these new widgets, interacting with Gemini can be as habitual as checking notifications or adjusting brightness.
That’s a big leap from the days of virtual assistants feeling like novelties that you’d occasionally ask to tell you a joke before forgetting about them entirely.
For now, this update is a clear win for iPhone users who enjoy using Gemini. It makes the assistant faster, more accessible, and more seamlessly integrated into daily life. Whether this is the beginning of a full-scale AI assistant takeover remains to be seen, but it will certainly be harder to ignore if you add it to your lock screen.
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erichs211@gmail.com (Eric Hal Schwartz)
