Summary

  • Google’s recent Android XR demos have hinted at a potential new wake word — ‘Hey Gemini.’
  • The usage of “Hey Gemini” in XR demos could signify a future where the same wake word is used for Gemini on Android smartphones.
  • This is the first time Google has officially acknowledged Gemini as a hotword.



The phrase “Hey Google” is synonymous with invoking the tech giant’s Google Assistant, and it has stuck around even when Google is clearly prioritizing Gemini over the aged virtual assistant. Currently, regardless of your assistant choice on Android devices, you still need to speak out “Hey Google” if you want to trigger either Google Assistant or Gemini. However, that might soon change.

Google’s prioritization of Gemini is clear as day. The AI-enabled assistant landed on Android back in February, and although not a fan-favorite at first, it has gained several new bells and whistles that are helping it gain traction.

This includes a barrage of new extensions to simplify on-device tasks, covering all bases — from Spotify and Google Home to Utilities, Messages, Phone, and even WhatsApp.

Google Gemini on an Android phone.

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Further highlighting its commitment to Gemini, earlier this week, the tech giant announced Gemini 2.0 with native image and audio abilities, alongside built-in access to external tools like Google Search. If you’ve already made the switch from Google Assistant to Gemini on your Android device, you can expect the advanced capabilities of Gemini 2.0 to enhance your mobile experience soon.

Considering all these updates, the least the AI assistant deserves is to be invoked with its own name, and Google’s latest Android XR demos hint at just that.


Hey Google Bye Google

Image of Samsung's upcoming VR/AR headset, code named Project Moohan, overlaid on an orange background with the Google logo shown.

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The tech giant’s Android XR is developed with Google Gemini at its core, with Google going as far as saying that it is the “first Android platform built for the Gemini AI era.” For more information about the new platform dedicated to VR headsets and AR smart glasses, check out the related story above. What we’re focusing on here are three demo videos that highlight the Android XR platform and a pair of AR glasses that will eventually run on it.

Note, I’m going to embed three YouTube videos back-to-back, so you might have to scroll down quite a bit to continue reading.


In all three demo videos, you’d notice the “Hey Gemini” command to invoke the AI assistant. Android XR is not expected to offer Google Assistant support, so naturally, the Hey Gemini hotword makes sense. However, the phrasing might also offer a glimpse into the future of Gemini on Android smartphones, where the same hotword could be used to invoke the assistant.

For what it’s worth, this is the first time we’ve officially seen Google acknowledge Gemini as a hotword, and that alone is a pretty big deal.