Google's Gemini 2.0 update will supercharge your phone — 3 changes to try first

Gemini logo
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Google Gemini 2.0 is here, and it has some impressive changes to help improve the user experience, particularly for Android users.

There was a lot to love about the initial Gemini release but also some issues and teething problems with the software. However, Google has since released Google Gemini 2.0, which outperforms the original on almost all benchmarks, despite being smaller and faster.

Some of the biggest changes offer some major advantages to phone users. This includes improvements to speed, multimodal understanding and integration.

Gemini gif

(Image credit: Google)

1. Improved multimodal understanding

Gemini 2.0 includes native image and audio processing. Essentially, Gemini doesn't have to convert images and audio into text before processing them, which is what the original Gemini did.

The advantage to this is that it allows the AI to better capture more subtleties and contextual clues that can be lost in the transfer.

This makes using it on your phone much more detailed, especially if you need to quickly get information on a captured image or YouTube video. So, for instance, you can take a photo or record a conversation and be sure to have a much more comprehensive breakdown.

2. Better system integration

One of the biggest advantages of Google Gemini is simply how well it integrates with the rest of Google's services.

For instance, Google Search is getting deeper integration, making for more conversational search experiences, and better AI overviews. Google Workspace will also see more integration in features like Docs, slides and Google Meet.

What this means is that the tasks you usually do on your phone will become just that bit better with the AI involved, without you needing to actively do anything.

3. Better performance and responsiveness

The biggest advantage for phone users, however, is Gemini 2.0 Flash. This new, smaller model offers more speed and responsiveness than 1.5 Flash.

Google has designed it to deliver enhanced performance, while at the same time reducing the latency. It helps to feel more natural when using the AI, while also making the whole experience a bit more streamlined

Another advantage of this is that, while Gemini 2.0 is more powerful, you could see your battery last much longer while using it. So if you make use of it on something like the Pixel 9 Pro, you'll be able to make use of all the best features without having to run back and forth to charge the device.

Coming soon: AI agents

Project Astra: Our vision for the future of AI assistants - YouTube Project Astra: Our vision for the future of AI assistants - YouTube
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All of this alone would be a major win, but we are awaiting the implementation of Google Gemin's AI agents, which are capable of executing complex tasks with multiple steps.

So, for instance, the AI can easily plan a trip on Google Maps with an itinerary and varied stops at the push of a button.

While the feature wasn't available on the 2.0 flash desktop for maps, we expect it to be part of the mobile app which recently saw a pre-release rollout.

There's a lot to be excited about with Gemini 2.0, and arguably we're only scratching the surface of what the AI is capable of. When we compared Gemini 2.0 to Gemini 1.5 the differences were astounding, so if you are a fan of AI then this is one to grab.

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Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer.