"Hey Google" is a familiar phrase for anyone who likes to use their Android phones hands-free. But there are hints from a newly-announced Google/Samsung product that you won't be calling out to Google in quite the same way in the future.
As part of the announcement of Samsung's Project Moohan headset and Android XR-powered smart glasses, we saw the use of a modified "Hey Gemini" hotword instead. For example, in the demo video below, where the user orders from a Korean takeout place, she summons help with "Hey Gemini," before the assistant then helps figure out what she may want to do. It then advises and translates to help place an order with no mention of "Google" anywhere.
Having seen this clip, perhaps you also feel that a move like this was inevitable. Gemini is rapidly replacing Google Assistant as the helper of choice on Android phones, both because of its more capable AI-powered features and simply because it's newer. As well-known as Google is, calling to Gemini sounds more like the future right now.
It'll still take a while for Google Assistant to completely disappear though. It's been baked into phones for the best part of a decade prior to now, and nobody expects all those users to immediately upgrade. Also, Google Assistant has app integrations, such as music streamers, that Gemini doesn't currently have access to.
Project Moohan has been confirmed for a 2025 launch, perhaps at the rumored Galaxy Unpacked event in January. That would be two years since it was first announced after all.
We can't wait to try out Project Moohan, or whatever it ends up being named, as it'll be the Apple Vision Pro challenger we've been waiting for. And thanks to the arrival of the open-source Android XR, it's inevitable that other companies will try their hand at spatial computing too. 2025's looking like a good year for AR/VR.
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