OnePlus is the latest Android brand ditching Google Assistant for Gemini

OnePlus has confirmed plans to pre-install Gemini on future devices, putting Google Assistant in the background.

Google has been slowly moving away from Assistant as the default voice assistant on Android, all in favor of the AI-powered Gemini, even though the newer experience still can’t do a lot of the things the old one could. Yet, we’re starting to see more Android devices offer Gemini as the default voice assistant experience.

Following Motorola and Google Pixel, OnePlus has announced that “upcoming flagship series phones” will ditch Google Assistant in favor of Gemini.

Google Assistant will still be available on these devices, of course, it just won’t be the default option. Users would instead need to open the Gemini app and manually switch back to Assistant. For existing OnePlus devices upgrading to OxygenOS 15, Assistant will remain in place unless users have already upgraded to Gemini, or decide to upgrade themselves.

OnePlus upcoming flagship series phones will have Google Gemini pre-installed as the default assistant. Users of other OnePlus smartphones can download the standalone Google Gemini app, however Google Assistant will operate as the default assistant.

The first smartphone that will see Gemini as the default will be the OnePlus 13, due to be announced in China this month ahead of a global rollout in the coming months.

More on Gemini:

• Gemini app simplification continues with ‘Ask Gemini’
• All Gemini users can now generate images with Imagen 3
• You can now share an image directly to Gemini from other Android apps

Follow Ben: Twitter/X, Threads, and Instagram