Google Gemini: The Best AI Features to Try on Your Smartphone

What is Gemini?

If you’re using an Android smartphone or tablet, chances are you’ve encountered Gemini. But if you’re not fully familiar with this new AI assistant, here’s a brief overview.

Gemini is Google’s new AI assistant, designed to replace Google Assistant for voice queries, commands, and tasks. While not all functions and extensions have been rolled out yet, updates will continue to be introduced over time.

What sets Gemini apart is its advanced AI capabilities, making it more conversational and natural when interacting with users compared to Google Assistant.

• First things first: How to install Google Gemini on your phone

Gemini Versions Compared: Free, Premium, Gemini Live

Gemini is available in different versions, which vary based on subscription and premium plans. The basic version is available on all compatible Android devices, while premium subscribers have access to more powerful features and faster AI models.

The premium version of Gemini offers advanced capabilities, such as handling complex tasks, coding, logical reasoning, and full integration with other Google apps through extensions.

Gemini Live, another version, is a conversational chatbot built into the app. It also has a premium tier that offers enhanced features like background conversations, making it a smarter AI assistant within the Gemini app.

The Gemini Premium (AI Premium) plan costs $19.99/month. It includes access to advanced AI features like Gemini Ultra 1.0, plus 2 TB of Google One storage and AI tools in Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. You can get a one-month free trial from Google.

• Also read: Other must-have AI features you should install

Top Features of Gemini

Now that you’re familiar with the different versions, let’s dive into Gemini's top features.

1. Generate images

Gemini includes a text-to-image generation tool, available in both free and premium versions. The premium version, however, can generate more complex images, including portraits of people. It uses Google’s latest Imagen-3 model, which delivers improved image quality and customization options.

Here’s how to use the image generator:

1. Open the Gemini app on your device.
2. Type or speak your prompt, starting with "create," "generate," or "draw."
3. Specify styles, colors, and descriptions.
4. Tap the send button and wait for the result.

You can refine your prompts for better results and save or share the images directly from the app. For additional information on the topic, please read our guide on creating and saving AI images with Gemini.

2. Summarize Texts and Videos

Gemini can summarize long texts, emails, documents, and YouTube videos. To use this feature, you’ll need to activate the Google Workspace and YouTube extensions within the app.

Here’s how to summarize texts:

1. Open the Gemini app.
2. Paste or type the text or URL into the prompt box.
3. Hit the send button and receive the summary.

To summarize YouTube videos (with subtitles enabled):

1. Open the YouTube video.
2. Launch or summon Gemini.
3. Type or speak, "summarize this video."

Gemini can also highlight important information like recipes or menus from video captions. To learn more about this, check out our tutorial on how to use Gemini to summarize YouTube videos.

3. Use Gemini with Google Apps

Gemini integrates seamlessly with Google apps, making it easier to manage tasks. For instance, you can extract flight details from Gmail and add them as events in your Google Calendar.

Here’s how to do it:

• Use Gemini to pull out important details from Gmail.
• Add or modify events directly in Google Calendar.

4. Control Smart Home Devices with Gemini

Like Google Assistant, Gemini can control smart home devices. You’ll need to add your devices in the Google Home app and link third-party apps such as Xiaomi Mi Home or Samsung SmartThings.

Here’s an example of how to control a smart air purifier:

1. Add your smart home device to the Home app.
2. Launch Gemini.
3. Write or speak the command, specifying the device name and action.
4. Tap send.

5. Search via Photos or Videos

Gemini can search for images or frames within videos, providing an alternative to Google Lens. It also integrates with your device’s gallery.

Here’s how to search:

1. Open your camera app or capture a screenshot from a video.
2. Launch the Gemini app.
3. Tap Ask about this screen.
4. Add your prompt and hit send.

Note: While Gemini currently supports photo searches, video clip search is not yet available. For further information, please read our guide on how to use the image search shortcut with Gemini on Android.

6. Conversational Chats with Gemini Live

Gemini Live allows for natural, continuous conversations. The free version offers basic features, while the premium version allows for deeper interactions, including access to conversation transcripts for later reference.

Here are some examples of the conversations with Gemini Live:

Alternatively, my colleague Antoine Engels has conducted a more detailed test with Gemini Live, which you can check out in the link below:

• Gemini Live: Talking to Google's AI is fun, weird, and a bit pointless

Have you tried using Gemini or Gemini Live on your device? Which feature is your favorite? Please let us know in the comments!