In May, Google unveiled Gemini Live, a conversational AI-powered assistant that can be interrupted, have multi-turn conversations, and revisit conversations later. Since its launch, Gemini Live has only been available to Gemini Advanced users, requiring a $20 monthly membership to access; however, that’s about to change.
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On Thursday, Google shared via an X post that all Gemini mobile app users in English on Android can now access Gemini Live, allowing them to have a free-flowing conversation with the assistant whenever they’d like. There is no Gemini app for iOS, and as a result, those users will not be able to participate in the experience.
The 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.
This is particularly noteworthy because ChatGPT’s equivalent feature, the new Voice Mode, is currently rolling out in alpha to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users, adding more users on a rolling basis. ChatGPT Plus is also a $20 monthly subscription, and even if you shell out the money, there is no guarantee that you’ll even be one of the users who get access to Voice Mode anytime soon.
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.
Also: 5 ways to start using Gems in your workflows, according to Google
If you are an Apple user experiencing a bit of FOMO, no worries. In May, Apple 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.
Apple Intelligence will be part of iOS 18, which launches next week. 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 to follow at a later date.