In September, Google announced that all English-speaking Gemini mobile app users on Android would get access to Gemini Live, allowing them to have free-flowing conversations with the assistant whenever they’d like. Now, the Gemini Live rollout is complete — it’s available for free on all Android phones.
On Tuesday, Google announced via an X post that Live is now available for all Gemini users in English on the Android app, ending the gradual rollout that began last month.
Google first unveiled Gemini Live, a conversational AI-powered assistant that can be interrupted, have multi-turn conversations, and revisit conversations later, in May. Since its launch, Gemini Live has only been available to Gemini Advanced users, requiring a $20 monthly membership to access. Now, free users have been looped in, too.
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The new update makes access to Gemini Live entirely free to Android users since they will no longer need to subscribe to the Gemini One AI Premium plan to access it, and downloading the app from the Google Play Store is free. There is no Gemini app for iOS, and as a result, those users will not be able to participate in the experience.
This is particularly noteworthy because ChatGPT’s equivalent feature, the new Voice Mode, is currently only rolling out to paid subscribers, including ChatGPT Plus users, who pay a $20 monthly subscription.
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Eventually, both Gemini Live and OpenAI’s Voice Mode will be able to use the phone’s camera to give the voice assistant context of the user’s surroundings to inform responses. However, neither company has given a clear date for when the visual component of the feature will launch.
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To see if you have access to Gemini Live, make sure your Gemini app is updated and then open it like you regularly would. If you see the waveform icon at the bottom left of your app screen, you have Gemini Live access. Once you click on it, you will see a walkthrough of how to use the feature. If you don’t see it, try updating your Gemini app.
If you are an Apple user experiencing a bit of FOMO, no worries. In May, Apple also unveiled Apple Intelligence, its collection of AI features that will be infused into the Apple device experience, and one of the new features is a smarter Siri.
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Apple Intelligence will be part of iOS 18.1, which is coming later this month. However, only users with the A17 chip and higher, found in the iPhone 15 Pro and all succeeding models, can experience Apple Intelligence in its entirety. Some of the new Apple Intelligence features will roll out in October, with others will follow at a later date, possibly early next year.
