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Google launched the Gemini Android app in February along with an overall AI rebrand. (Gemini used to be called Bard, if you remember). With it, you can access Google’s AI to perform the general chatbot activities you expect from a generative AI model, in addition to the option to set Gemini as your default phone assistant.
However, until now, many Android phones found the Gemini app blocked because Google rolled out the feature with stringent minimum operating system requirements: if your smartphone wasn’t running Android 12 or later, you couldn’t exploit the Gemini app. You can still access the Gemini website, gemini.google.com, but to exploit any phone-level features (including, of course, replacing Google Assistant with Gemini), you’ll need to update your phone. Probably not worth the cost of admission if your current device works well.
The good news: this is all changing. As reported by Android AuthorityGoogle has quietly lowered the minimum Android OS requirements for the Gemini app from Android 12 and above to Android 10 and above. AssembleDebug first discovered this change in the latest version of the app submitted to APKMirror and brought it to the attention of Android Authority. But now the official Gemini app listing on the Play Store also says that it “requires Android 10 and above.” To be clear, Google official support page for the Gemini application it still claims to require Android 12 and above (in addition to 4GB of RAM, no less), but that will likely change as well.
This issue doesn’t affect most Pixel devices as Google supports Android 12 starting with Pixel 3 and later. However, if you have a Pixel 2, older Samsung Galaxy, OnePlus, Nokia, or other smartphone that is stuck on Android 10 or Android 11, you can at least give Gemini a chance on your device without feeling left behind.
