AI chatbots may not be a personal favorite, but they are now making their way to your wrist. On Wednesday, Google announced that it is introducing its Gemini AI assistant to the Wear OS smartwatch operating system.
The new Samsung Watch 8 series, also unveiled on Wednesday during the company's Unpacked event in New York, will be the first Wear OS watch to feature Gemini. Other devices running Wear OS 4 or later, including Google's Pixel Watch 3, will follow suit.
You can interact with the chatbot using voice commands by saying “Hey Google,” pressing and holding the side button on the watch, or tapping the Gemini icon on the screen. Google suggests various hands-free applications for this feature, such as seeking recipe advice, sending quick emails, adding calendar events, or setting reminders.
Additionally, Google provided updates on its ongoing partnership with Samsung. The new Watch 8, along with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 folding phones, will feature Google’s Circle to Search AI, which includes an AI Mode also coming to the latest Pixel phones. Another announcement from Google hinted at a new use for the AI-enhanced Circle to Search: assisting users with Android games.
You can also use Gemini Live on the Z Flip 7’s outward-facing FlexWindow to receive advice from the interactive AI service that Google launched last August. This feature allows the AI to analyze what it sees through the camera next to the screen, such as when you're trying on various pairs of glasses.
Furthermore, Google is expanding Gemini Live’s in-app capabilities to include Samsung’s Calendar, Reminder, and Notes apps. This means the AI can perform tasks like adding a concert to your calendar simply by pointing your phone’s camera at a poster displaying the event's date, time, and location.
In a report on Monday, Ars Technica security reporter Dan Goodin cautioned that the default app integration of Gemini Live includes WhatsApp and Messages. He noted that this could result in human reviewers accessing snippets of your messages as part of Google’s software quality-control processes. A Google support document mentions that this review is governed by privacy measures, such as automatically “disconnecting your conversations with Gemini Apps from your Google Account.” Additionally, a separate note provides instructions on how to disconnect specific apps from Gemini Live.
In other news from Google’s Wednesday announcement, there’s an exciting update for the Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold: the Veo 3 AI video-generation service will be available “soon” on these devices. They also come with a year of complimentary access to Google’s AI Pro service, which typically costs $19.99 per month.
