It looks like Google’s Gemini AI may be on the cusp of arriving on Wear OS smartwatches, with signs already appearing on actual smartwatches.
Beebom reports its tester Pixel Watch displayed a Gemini icon when receiving a call.
The suggestion is not that you’ll be able to get Gemini to answer, robot voice style, like a PA. The icon appeared by the Quick Replies feature, implying Google may be giving them an LLM makeover.
That icon is the only change seen so far. The quick replies seen by Beebom were the usual canned texts of a smartwatch.
There’s certainly scope for AI to swoop in and make Quick Replies feel more useful and vital. Perhaps the Pixel Watch could (with the help of a connected phone) realize you’re on a train. Or cross-reference with your calendar to ascertain you’re about to head into a meeting.
Perhaps it could go deeper with the help of some Android APIs and know the estimated arrival time of your Uber, bus or train, and feed them into the Quick Replies suggestions.
Conversely, Gemini could potentially just be used to transcribe something you say, to be relayed as a text message.
Or perhaps it’s just a blip and we won’t hear too much about this form of smartwatch AI any time soon.
The watch in question was not even the latest Pixel Watch, though, but the Pixel Watch 2 from 2023.
Regardless, we do know Gemini is coming to Wear OS watches including the Pixel series. For starters, the Google Assistant brand is being retired, for all but ancient phones. It is to be replaced by Google Gemini by the end of the year.
“We’re upgrading Google Assistant users on mobile to Gemini, offering a new kind of help only possible with the power of AI,” Brian Marquardt, Google Senior Director of Gemini product management wrote on the Google blog earlier this month.
What form Gemini AI will take on Wear OS, though, is yet to be officially confirmed.
