Google Assistant’s days have been numbered ever since Gemini arrived on the scene, and its time is now up. Google has announced that it will be removing access to Assistant on Android phones and tablets, along with paired devices like smartwatches or headphones, from September 4th.
The announcement came in an email apparently sent to some users, as reported by 9to5Google and shared in full on Reddit. The Verge has asked Google for confirmation that the email is accurate, and will update this story once we have it.
“We will begin removing access to Google Assistant starting on 4 September,” Google states in the email, “and expect that this process may take a few weeks to reach everyone. Once availability is removed, you will no longer be able to use or switch back to Google Assistant on your phone, tablet or paired devices.”
Google notes that if you’re in a region where Gemini is available, and your device meets minimum requirements, you’ll now only have access to the AI-enabled assistant. Paired devices including Wear OS smartwatches, headphones and earbuds, and cars running Android Auto will also lose access to Google Assistant, though cars running Google built-in will retain access to Assistant for now. Today’s announcement doesn’t seem to affect Google Home or Google TV devices, so Assistant will live on in a few places past September.
Google had previously planned to end access to Assistant for “most mobile devices” some time in 2025, but the shutdown was delayed to this year. It seems that the stay of execution has now been lifted, and Assistant is just a few weeks away from taking its place in the Google Graveyard.
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