Google has announced updates to its Gemini AI assistant during the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event on January 22, 2025. These updates aim to enhance the assistant's functionality and accessibility on Android devices, particularly on the Samsung Galaxy S25 series and Pixel 9 devices.
BREAKING 🚨: Gemini app soon will allow users to add images, files and YouTube videos to the Gemini Live conversation 👀
— TestingCatalog News 🗞 (@testingcatalog) January 22, 2025
* Rolling out on the Samsung Galaxy S24 and S25 series, and also on Pixel 9 devices, starting today. Expansion to more devices in coming weeks. https://t.co/WVk0r3l7rl pic.twitter.com/n32eM5lCZ9
The New Gemini Features
Gemini introduces several new capabilities designed to integrate more deeply into users' workflows and enhance its multimodal capabilities:
- Gemini Live Updates: Users can now engage in conversations with Gemini Live using images, files, and YouTube videos. This feature is rolling out on the Galaxy S24, S25, and Pixel 9 devices, with broader availability planned in the coming weeks. Additionally, Project Astra capabilities such as screen sharing and live video streaming will be added to Gemini Live in the coming months.
- Expanded Extensions: Gemini now supports actions across Samsung apps like Calendar, Notes, Reminder, and Clock on Galaxy S25 devices. Users can also issue multi-extension prompts, enabling tasks like finding recipes and saving them directly to Samsung Notes or Google Keep.
- Accessibility Enhancements: On Galaxy S25 devices, users can access Gemini by long-pressing the side button. Advanced users will also gain access to Deep Research capabilities in the Gemini mobile app later this week.
Technical Advancements
The updates leverage Gemini’s multimodal capabilities, which allow it to process and respond using text, images, audio, and video. These features are supported by Gemini 2.0 Flash, an experimental model optimized for reasoning tasks and complex problem-solving. The model boasts a one million token context window for handling extensive data inputs and outputs.
We’re also bringing some of Project Astra’s capabilities to the @GeminiApp. ✨
— Google DeepMind (@GoogleDeepMind) January 22, 2025
Screen sharing and live video streaming will be available first on @Android and the @SamsungMobile Galaxy S25 series - enabling Gemini to better understand the world around you. →… pic.twitter.com/k38k7blekK
Target Audience and Availability
These updates are particularly targeted at users of Samsung's latest flagship devices and Google’s Pixel line. While certain features are exclusive to these devices initially, Google plans to extend compatibility to more Android devices soon. Advanced features like Deep Research are geared toward professional users who require detailed analysis and reasoning capabilities.