Google is removing Assistant from most phones this year

Google Assistant’s days are numbered. Google announced Friday that all Android devices are switching to Gemini as their default assistant and “the classic Google Assistant will no longer be accessible on most mobile devices.”

The company says it’s working to convert more mobile devices from Google Assistant to Gemini in 2025, and plans on “upgrading tablets, cars and devices that connect to your phone, such as headphones and watches” to the new AI assistant. That presumably includes other platforms like iOS, as well. While smart home devices don’t seem to be a focus at Google as of late, the company also reaffirmed plans to use Gemini to power a new experience on speakers, displays, and streaming boxes.

The only way to really avoid Google Assistant’s retirement is to have a device that doesn’t meet Gemini’s minimum system requirements: Running at least Android 10 and having at least 2GB of RAM. If you’ve got both, say goodbye to your old assistant.

For those willing to look, the writing has been on the wall for Google Assistant for a while now. Google launched its Pixel 9 line with Gemini as the default instead …read more