Gemini on Wear OS must not fall in the same Assistant traps

It’s official: Wear OS smartwatches are set for a significant voice assistant upgrade soon. Although it’s one of Google’s worst-kept secrets, Gemini will soon replace Assistant on various Google platforms, including Android smartwatches. The prospect of having Gemini’s capabilities on my wrist excites me more than its presence on my phone. I believe the accessibility and immediacy of a smartwatch make it a more effective home for a voice assistant. However, as the update approaches, I have one primary concern: Assistant has issues, and Google can’t simply cover them up with Gemini. If it does, it risks squandering the potential of the new voice assistant.

There was a time when Gemini couldn’t even start a timer, but thankfully, those days are long gone. Now equipped with a broader range of features, it can handle more complex voice tasks than Assistant, which was designed for an earlier generation of watches. Gemini Live is a prime example, enabling natural, contextually aware, and continuous conversations with the digital assistant in various settings. I’ve used Live in several situations on my phone, from seeking cooking advice on the fly to brainstorming road trip ideas. But despite the allure of these features, Gemini risks inheriting all of Assistant’s worst traits on the watch. This might sound dramatic, but if you’ve used the old assistant on a Wear OS watch recently, you’ll know it’s well past its prime.

Personally, I find the most glaring issue is Assistant’s reliance on an internet connection to function. This isn’t just a preference for speeding up specific prompts; Assistant won’t work without being connected to the web. If your smartwatch isn’t online, you can’t issue any commands, even those that should run locally. While some queries require fetching information from the internet or interacting with a server for more complex tasks, not every prompt should require it. I shouldn’t need Wi-Fi or mobile data to activate power-saving mode or the always-on display. I shouldn’t need it to start a timer, set an alarm, or begin an exercise. Google should consider isolating some prompts and actions to the watch itself to make Gemini as useful offline as it is online.

On days when Assistant does work, its processing speed and response time are frustratingly slow. Its execution is so sluggish that manually navigating menus and triggering tasks myself is often quicker. To test this, I asked Assistant to start a 10-minute timer. From my command to the timer starting, it took nearly 12 seconds. I could do it manually in less than 8 seconds with two swipes and a tap. While some actions may be quicker to perform manually, this doesn’t excuse Assistant’s general slowness. The problem is, I can’t always interact with my watch using my fingers. I’ve tried using my watch while cooking with oil-covered hands or running on uneven ground. Neither is a good idea.

Assistant isn’t perfect at understanding commands, either. Several prompts, while perhaps obvious in intention to the user, simply don’t trigger any action. For instance, “start a swim” returns a “you don’t have any apps that support this action” message. Samsung Health is right there!

Notably, Assistant isn’t the only platform that has shortcomings. Gemini still lacks deeper integration with several apps and services, especially for anyone with a smart home setup. The Gemini rollout has killed countless commands and automations for various setups, setups that worked without issue through Assistant. To be fair to Google, this situation is steadily improving, and I personally have no issue prompting Gemini to turn off my smart lights through Google Home. However, it could be a highly annoying problem for those who operate more complex environments through their wearable.

Despite my apparent disdain for Assistant, it wasn’t a terrible voice assistant. I rarely used its watch form due to the three issues I’ve outlined, though, and Gemini risks becoming another white elephant on my smartwatch. With all things considered, I’m still optimistic that Gemini will be an upgrade over Assistant on Wear OS. I definitely wouldn’t have said this a year ago. But Google must be aware of the problems consumers faced with Assistant for Gemini to be a real wrist-worn success going forward.