Google AI is now no longer limited to Google platforms. While iPhone users could previously access Gemini through the web, the iPhone now has a fully fledged Gemini app, complete with exclusive iOS features not present on Android.
For the most part, the Gemini app doesn’t work too differently from the web interface, allowing you to view your past chats with Google’s bot as well as ask it to answer questions or generate AI art or help with spreadsheets. What you get for using the app instead of your browser is Gemini Live.
Live has already been out on Android for a few months now, first appearing as a paid feature before being made free for everyone. Billed as a way to converse with Google’s AI, it’s kind of like using speech-to-text, but without having to press a microphone icon before each question. Just say your questions out loud, and Gemini will respond to them in real time, incorporating context from your previous questions. Presumably, you can even interrupt Gemini or stumble over your words without issue, although I’ve had mixed results while testing it out on a Pixel 9 Pro.
Gemini on iPhone can also access Gemini extensions, allowing it to pull information from other apps, although that was technically already available on browsers. Exclusive to the iPhone app is some clever use of the Dynamic Island. While you’re talking to Gemini, you’ll see icons in the Dynamic island indicating that Live is still active and whether it’s listening to you. You’ll also be able to pause or end your chat straight from the Dynamic Island, or tap to re-open the Gemini app as a whole. The same functionality is available on the Lock Screen, but putting Gemini Live in the Dynamic Island is a useful way to keep track of the bot as you browse, since what it says out loud isn’t always accurate. For instance, when I asked Gemini Live to close my chat, the bot said it did but kept listening anyway. If I didn’t have Dynamic Island icons letting me know it was still listening in, I wouldn’t have known.
Gemini for iOS follows some greater Gemini integration in Google’s other apps, including the ability to use Gemini to report road conditions in Waze or to have Gemini curate suggested destinations in Maps. Outside of the realm of AI, Google Maps also now lets you search for specific products, so you can type “PS5” into the app to see stores near you that carry the console.
