Google Abandons Trusty Voice Assistant for Unreliable Newcomer

Google has begun phasing out Google Assistant from mobile devices worldwide, affecting around 800 million devices. The move marks a significant shift in the company's smart home strategy, as users are being forced to migrate to Gemini for Home.

The transition is already underway, with some users experiencing issues with basic commands and device recognition. Testing by The Verge found that Gemini for Home works only about 50% of the time, with frequent errors in identifying rooms and devices.

Users who rely on Nest speakers and displays have been experiencing this frustration since October 2025, when early access was rolled out. There is no easy way to revert to the legacy Assistant, forcing users to factory reset their devices and create new Home profiles if they find Gemini unusable.

The move to Gemini also brings significant changes in how user data is handled, with voice recordings and interactions now being funneled into Gemini Apps Activity. A subset of these interactions may be reviewed by human reviewers, and data is used to train generative AI models.