Google has renamed Bard into Gemini. Along with the rename, the search engine behemoth also launched a new mobile app for Android. The mobile app was initially launched only for the US but now has expanded to more regions including Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa, and Canada. This expansion was confirmed by Gemini product lead Jack Krawczyk, who also confirmed that Google is working on bringing the service to Europe soon.
Officially, the app is not available in Malaysia as of yet. Android Authority reports that the app is available on APK Mirror and they managed to install it on non-US registered phones. While the app seems legit – the source of the app is from a third-party site, so it is advisable to not install the app. As a disclaimer – I downloaded the APK for research purposes and downloading unverified APKs may compromise your phone’s security.
Right now, with the app, you can use Gemini AI with either voice or image prompts. You can think of it as an extended version of the Google Assistant. Gemini can be called by using the ‘OK Google’ command (if you have it activated).
We can confirm that the app works with our Malaysian Android devices – it installed without problems on my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. A note of caution – Gemini will replace your Google Assistant on your phone if you install it, so just be warned if your assistant may sound different than usual. All the screenshots here are taken directly from the Samsung S23 Ultra.
Other countries that have reported success include India, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Canada and Poland.
I installed the app on my own Android device and some of the features that I can use with Google Gemini in Malaysia are:
- Logo identification via image prompt
- Image generation using Gemini AI
- Set alarm using voice commands (OK Google)
- Create new generated text using text prompt supplied to Gemini AI
Some media reported that Gemini can’t do basic tasks such as setting/modifying alarms as well as opening apps using your voice like Google Assistant – but when we tried it ourselves, it worked without a problem. We can’t however create reminders using voice prompts – there is a voice notification saying that Gemini is a Large Language Model (LLM) and reminders requires the use of Google Assistant.
Right now the app is not officially available on the Malaysian Play Store – but seeing that the features are already accessible to Malaysian Android devices, it should not be long before the app is officially available on the Play Store.
In the mean time, Malaysians can also try out the more advanced Gemini Advanced via a new premium subscription package.
[SOURCE]
