Following Samsung's sudden AI announcement, Google is now rolling out its Gemini app to more Android users.
When the company first announced its Gemini app for Android earlier this year, it said it would only target devices running Android 12 or later. However, older devices running Android 10 and Android 11 can now install the latest version of Gemini for Android (v1.0.626720042) via the Play Store.
Found on Twitter/X @isumantadastested by artem rusakovsky from android police and 9To5Google This shows that Gemini actually works on phones running Android 10 and 11, and the experience works just as well as it does on newer phones.
This is a big move by Google as both operating systems are still very popular. Android 10 and 11 currently account for 8.82% and 16.57% of the global Android installed base, respectively. This equates to millions of devices that currently have access to Google's latest AI technology.
This could also be good news for users of older Pixel smartphones and other Android-branded devices. Will we see Circle to Search available on more phones someday? Or is it some other Pixel-specific AI-powered feature? states that it requires 4GB of RAM.a lot devices fall into that bracket. It will be interesting to see how far Google can push Gemini and Gemini-related tools to smartphones deep in his Android world.
Google and Samsung both surprised users by rolling out their headline AI tools to older phones. Recently Samsung announced that the Galaxy S23 series will be updated with Live Translation, Circle to Search, Note Assist, Generated Image Editing, and other AI features. A month later, it announced that the same update would be applied to the Galaxy S22 series.
Just four months ago, these tools were exclusive to the Galaxy S24. Google is also constantly updating older devices with new features through its Feature Drop program, so there's a precedent here that could bear even more fruit in the future. This is no surprise, as Google CEO Sundar Pichai already declared in January that we are entering the “Age of Gemini.”
Google has not yet confirmed the Gemini update. However, I think the company will hold out well until next month's I/O conference, where we can expect a number of Gemini announcements.