Google says it needs more time to upgrade Assistant to Gemini on most Android devices; Google previously planned to complete the transition by the end of 2025
The transition from Assistant to Gemini will continue into 2026. — Google wanted to remove Assistant from most Android phones …
Context & Ripple Effects
Google had framed Gemini as the Android successor to Assistant during 2025, while excluding older or lower-memory phones in its earlier device-eligibility plan. The revised schedule makes the migration a phased rollout rather than a year-end cutover.
The change also sits alongside the retirement of legacy Assistant touchpoints: Waze had already cited integration difficulties when it removed Google Assistant on iPhone.
First-order effects
- Google must keep the Assistant-to-Gemini transition active into 2026, rather than completing the planned migration by the end of 2025.
- Eligible Android users whose devices have not yet switched will continue using Assistant for longer while Google completes the rollout.
Second-order effects
- Google’s Android ecosystem must accommodate a longer period in which Assistant and Gemini coexist, extending the operational handoff between the two experiences.
- The delayed phone migration contrasts with Google’s subsequent Gemini rollout in cars with Google built in, underscoring that replacement timing can differ by device category.
Third-order effects
- If the staggered approach persists, Google’s assistant strategy will be defined less by a single replacement date than by surface-by-surface migration to Gemini.
- The broader shift is toward Gemini becoming Google’s common assistant layer across Android and other Google-powered devices, with legacy integrations retired gradually rather than all at once.
The trend: Google is consolidating its assistant products around Gemini through phased, device-specific migrations instead of a single platform-wide switchover.