Google has introduced its AI-powered assistant, Gemini, as a standalone app for iOS users globally. Previously, iOS users could only access Gemini via the Google app or a mobile web browser.
The Gemini app supports text-based prompts in 35 languages. It also includes Gemini Live, a feature allowing users to have interactive conversations with the AI in 12 languages, such as English, Spanish, French, German, and Hindi. Google has plans to add support for more languages in the future.
This new iOS app offers Gemini Live as a unique feature not available on other platforms. Through Gemini Live, users can request recipes or study help. In addition, the app includes an image-generation capability using Google’s Imagen 3 model, a feature available to Gemini Advanced, Business, and Enterprise users. Google reintroduced this image feature in August after pausing it to address concerns about historical inaccuracies in generated images.
Gemini also connects with other Google services. Users can ask Gemini questions related to information in their Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Calendar accounts.
Google first launched the Gemini app for Android in February, beginning in the U.S. and later expanding to Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, and the U.K., with additional language support for Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Portuguese. By June, the app reached India and other South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, with nine local languages supported.
Meanwhile, Apple has been developing its own Siri integration with ChatGPT, now available in the iOS 18.2 public beta. At Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference earlier this year, Apple hinted at plans to incorporate Google’s Gemini with Apple Intelligence. According to Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President, this integration could include various models like Google Gemini, indicating that Gemini’s launch on iOS could be an initial step toward deeper collaboration.
