GoKawiilRita El Khoury / Android Authority
Gemini Live has been one of the most helpful AI tools in my everyday life, ever since it launched two years ago on the Pixel 9 series. I use it to get answers while cooking, to check what’s wrong with my plants when something fails, and to ask questions about anything I’m not familiar with.
It’s an essential part of my Android experience and my Google Home smart speaker experience, too, but I recently tested it in a rental car with Android Auto, and the results left me a little… disappointed.
What do you think of Gemini Live in Android Auto? 11 votes It's awesome, I love to use it. 9 % It's fine, but Google should fix some issues. 45 % It's a terrible experience. 36 % It doesn't work for me yet. 9 %
Where Gemini Live shines on Android Auto
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Starting a Live chat in Android Auto is as easy as invoking the regular Gemini, then saying, “Let’s chat.” The interface switches from a simple overlay to a full-on side menu reminiscent of the old Gemini Live interface on phones, with black and blue gradients. It’s familiar and offers two very easy-to-access buttons: Hold and Stop. Once you’re in that Live mode, you can start talking, and Gemini will respond while keeping your ongoing navigation or music in the main Android Auto window. Simple as that.
I was navigating around Romania, so I used Live to discuss potential activities, stops, things I needed to know about towns and cities I was passing through or heading toward, and so much more. For example, on my way to Salina Turda, I asked about other activities I could do nearby, and it suggested a quick one-hour hike at the Turda Gorge, which ended up being an awesome experience. I could’ve researched that on my phone, but having a quick back-and-forth discussion to see how feasible it was, how far, how much time the hike takes, the terrain and elevation (I wasn’t wearing hiking gear), and whether the weather was going to change soon helped me make up my mind while I was on the way to Turda. No time lost.
Gemini Live is easy to summon, helps me stay alert, and understands a bunch of languages at the same time.
I was partly expecting Gemini Live to only understand English, but, like Live on my phone, it supports multiple languages. I tried switching between English, French, Spanish, and Arabic mid-sentence, and it understood everything I said. I tried asking one question in English, then another in French, and it got that. Even throwing in one random Arabic word amid a bunch of English didn’t trip it. Gemini Live got it all. This ability keeps surprising me because I thought we were years away from AI understanding multiple languages like that, but no, it can do that already! And for someone who tends to think and speak in three or more languages, having Gemini answer my babble is one of the most impressive party tricks I’ve seen from tech in the last few years.
... continue reading