Lack of Assistant features, more on Google’s list of Gemini ‘things to fix ASAP’

Gemini is not yet ready to replace Google Assistant on Android. That’s the user sentiment that has emerged in recent days and Google is fortunately aware of that, as well as other Gemini “things to fix.”

Right out of the gate, Google listed what “features & services from Google Assistant are not supported in Gemini” in a support document:

• Media service providers: Podcasts, news and radio stations, and third-party music providers aren’t currently supported in Gemini.
• Routines: Starting a Routine in Gemini isn’t supported. On Android phones, shortcuts to start a Routine and Routines attached to alarms in the Clock app no longer work.
  • You can still start a Routine with Google Assistant on Home devices, like your speakers and Smart Displays.
• Reminders: Switch back to Google Assistant to set reminders and tasks.
• Interpreter mode: Switch back to Google Assistant to use Interpreter mode.

Google’s Jack Krawczyk on Friday afternoon identified “Assistant tasks: calendar, reminders, routines extensions” as “THINGS TO FIX ASAP.” It looks like extensions will be how Google adds those capabilities. The existing Google Workspace one just supports Gmail, Drive, and Docs. 

“Android app: conversational overlay input submit” was also on the list and has already been fixed. That voice input method on the new overlay panel, which is otherwise quite elegant, was basically just speech-to-text that required you press the send icon to submit.

As noted on Thursday, English support in other countries – Latin America, Africa, Asia Pacific, and Canada – is officially rolling out from Monday onwards along with Japanese and Korean. Availability of the Gemini app in the UK, Switzerland, European Economic Area countries, and associated territories is “coming soon.”

Rounding out the “we’re on it” fix list for the app and Gemini Advanced:

• Refusals = top priority
• Coding: y’all want an interpreter. ack.
• Preachy guardrails: some laughable examples, we’ll fix

In terms of positives in Google’s eyes, there’s: 

• Writing style
• Creativity for helping you find the right words/ideas
• Speed of responses
• Not hitting usage caps
• Online connectivity
• Images in responses
• Integration with tools (Gmail, Maps)

Meanwhile, Google is particularly emphasizing how Gemini Advanced is free for the first two months. It somewhat ends up being a soft launch for the paid tier.