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Google has officially entered the “Hey Gemini” era with the launch of its first Android XR smart glasses yesterday.
Google has slowly been integrating Gemini into pretty much every aspect of its apps and services. You can now find Gemini everywhere, from the best Android phones to Google services like Sheets, Gmail, and pretty much everything in between.
And with the company retiring Google Assistant last year, Google has been gradually switching everything over to Gemini. The launch of its first Android XR “Intelligent Eyewear” smart glasses yesterday is yet another example of that shift.
When Google announced its Android XR-powered smart glasses yesterday, the company revealed that users will be able to access Gemini not by saying “Hey Google,” as we currently do on Android phones and smart home devices, but by using the new “Hey Gemini” hotword instead.
Saying “Hey Gemini” on these smart glasses will trigger the same Gemini-powered AI assistant we’ve been using for quite some time now. However, this is the first time Google has introduced a different hotword for Gemini, moving away from the familiar “Hey Google” phrase and signaling a clear shift in how the company wants users to interact with its AI assistant.
For now, the “Hey Gemini” hotword doesn’t work on other devices like Android phones or smart home devices, which still rely on “Hey Google” to activate the assistant. However, it’s pretty clear that Google is moving toward making Gemini the face of its AI-powered experiences, and the new hotword could eventually make its way to other devices as well.
Of course, Google hasn’t confirmed whether or when it plans to replace “Hey Google” across its other products. But with “Hey Gemini” now making its debut on Android XR smart glasses, it’ll be interesting to see how long the familiar Google Assistant hotword sticks around.