Google announced the arrival of Gemini on Google TV ahead of the actual start of CES 2025 tomorrow.
Google aims to “make interacting with your TV more intuitive and helpful” by introducing “Gemini models” to this new form factor. It was announced today that Gemini will be available for Wear OS smartwatches, joining Gemini on phones, tablets, and headphones.
This “will make searching through your media easier than ever, and you will be able to ask questions about travel, health, space, history, and more,” according to Google. YouTube videos can be found as answers to your questions, such as “Where are the best places to go in Asia for vacation in the summer?”
Interestingly, you will continue to use “Google Assistant” on televisions.
This closely resembles the Assistant update powered by Gemini that is presently being tested on the Nest Mini and Audio. The LLM is able to “offer more comprehensive, AI-powered responses on general knowledge topics.” You can ask follow-up questions and interrupt responses to ask something new, in addition to using more natural tones.
You may conduct more conversational searches for movies, TV series, and YouTube videos on Google TV, such as “What are the latest Disney movies?” “Show me photos from my trip to Italy” is another approach to search Google photographs.
Other features powered by the Gemini model, meanwhile, will allow you to “create customized artwork with the family, control your smart home devices while your TV is in ambient mode, and even get an overview of the day’s news.”
In addition to AI-generated descriptions for movie and show listings, Google debuted AI screensavers last year.
In terms of hardware, future Google TV models will feature far-field microphones that allow voice commands without the need for a remote control. The ambient mode that Google is introducing uses proximity sensors to display a “on-screen hub” when you’re close to the TV. The weather, news short, your morning commute, and other customized widgets will show up as you draw closer to the screen.
With a rollout starting “later this year on select Google TV devices,” Google is currently only offering a “preview” of what the “Gemini models” can accomplish for televisions. Today, TCL and Hisense were announced as partners.