Google Gemini Reportedly Expands to Android 10 to Support Older Smartphones

Google's Gemini app is expanding its compatibility with older Android operating systems, according to a report. Some users have recently highlighted that the Gemini app is available on Android 10 devices. This is a new development as previous versions of the app only supported Android 12 and above. Users have also said that the app is running without any lag or errors. In particular, the tech giant is said to be working on new features for its Gemini platform for Android. Some of the new features include a floating window over background applications, real-time generation, and fast scheduling.

The development was spotted by a pair of whistleblowers at X (formerly known as Twitter) and reported by 9to5Google. User Sumanta Das Found that the Gemini app “worked perfectly” on his Android 10 device. This was later corroborated by APK Mirror founder and tipster Artem Russakovskii, who said in a publication“Sumanta is right. The latest version of Gemini is the first version to support Android 10 and 11. All previous versions (except somehow the first one which was Android 6+) were Android 12+.”

The publication also confirmed that it tested the Gemini app on a Pixel phone running Android 10 and found the functionality of the app to be exactly the same as its Android 14 counterpart. Interestingly, Google made no announcement about an expansion to older devices, but it seems the tech giant wants to bring more devices under its AI umbrella.

In particular, since the functionality of the Gemini app has not been affected, it should also be able to be used as an assistant on the device, replacing Google Assistant. However, it is not clear if the AI ​​Assistant features are also the same as the newer versions of Android.

The current Gemini AI Assistant is not very capable. While it can handle all generative AI tasks and can handle basic device functionalities, it doesn't have access to third-party apps. So if you want to send a message using WhatsApp using Gemini, it will fall back to Google Assistant to complete this function. A previous report highlighted that the company was working on improving the AI ​​Assistant. In particular, Gemini could soon play music on devices from third-party apps like Spotify and YouTube Music.