Google is rolling out the first big redesign for its Gemini overlay on Android, making the interface more compact and colorful. Here’s everything you need to know about the update.
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Gemini’s Original Design
Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, first launched on Android in February. The original overlay featured a rectangular design with rounded corners. It included options for keyboard, voice, and camera input at the bottom, along with shortcuts to the full Gemini app and Gemini Live.
The New Compact Design
The overlay is much smaller and looks similar to the Google Search bar. The options have been reorganized into a single-line text box, making the interface cleaner. There’s a plus icon on the left for uploading images or files, followed by a text input field and a microphone button for voice input. The shortcut to Gemini Live is still there, but everything else is more compact. Google has also added a blue and purple glow effect to the overlay and microphone icon – something similar to what you see when you launch Apple Intelligence on the iPhone.
This change aligns with the aesthetic updates Google introduced to the Gemini app home screen in October. Some users on Reddit have pointed out that this glow effect is reminiscent of the animation used by Siri on iPhones. However, Gemini’s effect is subtler and limited to the overlay, unlike Siri’s full-screen animations.
Rolling Out Slowly
As of now, the updated design is not available to everyone. Reports suggest that it’s rolling out via a server-side update, so there’s no need to update the app manually. If you don’t see the new design yet, it should reach your device in the coming weeks.
If you’re one of the lucky users to get this update early, give it a try and see how it improves your experience. For others, the wait shouldn’t be too long.
Also Read:
- Google Gemini Now Remembers Your Preferences in Memory Like ChatGPT
- Which Gemini Model to Choose – 1.5 Flash, 1.5 Pro, Deep Research, 2.0 Flash or Advanced
- Google Gemini’s Deep Research: What is it and How to Use it?
- Google Unveils “Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking” to Rival OpenAI’s o1 Model
New Feature: PDF Analysis
In addition to the design refresh, Gemini is also gaining a new feature for analyzing PDF files. This feature is currently exclusive to Gemini Advanced users and works seamlessly with the Files by Google app.
Now, you can open a PDF directly from your file manager and ask Gemini to analyze it. It’s similar to opening Gemini and uploading a PDF but makes it easier to do that when you open files via the file manager app.
