I switched to a brand new Android assistant that makes Gemini glance old-fashioned

When Google introduced that it could be changing the Assistant with Gemini, I braced for what I thought will be the inevitable: a feature-rich revel in marred through a irritating transition duration. Almost precisely 365 days later, on the other hand, the transition has if truth be told long gone smoother than I anticipated. Setting reminders and controlling good house units now paintings, and I haven’t discovered myself totally misplaced with out the outdated Google Assistant. But whilst Gemini hasn’t been the crisis I feared, I will be able to’t say it’s a transparent improve both.

For all of Google’s guarantees about deeper reasoning and higher-quality responses, I think like there’s little or no that Gemini can do this Assistant couldn’t. So once I realized that AI startup Perplexity was once stepping as much as be offering an alternate, I used to be instantly curious to peer the way it in comparison to Google’s outdated and new assistants. And after every week of use, I will be able to hopefully say that I gained’t be returning to Gemini anytime quickly.

As I discussed previous, Gemini’s a lot of extensions imply that it might probably now keep watch over my good house and take notes. However, it fails simply as miserably at answering questions because the outgoing Google Assistant. My major gripe with Gemini stems from how a lot it depends on the underlying massive language fashion (and its non-public wisdom) to respond to my queries as a substitute of the use of its integrated seek engine.

Case in level, I automatically ask Gemini for inventory costs and get variable effects that frustrate me to no finish. A instructed like “How is Apple’s inventory value doing?” as soon as yielded a obscure reaction in regards to the corporate’s monetary efficiency over the last few months, however crucially, didn’t ship a worth quote in any respect.

It wasn’t till I particularly requested “What is Apple’s inventory value?” that Gemini in the end gave me a definitive solution. And even then, it related me to a few different web sites and lectured me at the volatility of inventory costs.

Perplexity, in the meantime, responds to such queries with a wealthy data field that even accommodates an interactive chart. Take a search for your self.

This isn’t a one-off, I’ve run into the similar downside when looking to convert currencies on more than one events. Ask Gemini how a lot 100 USD is in Euros, and also you’re much more likely to get a disclaimer about alternate charge fluctuations than a real quantity. If the celebrities align, it’s possible you’ll get a solution however it will simply be sooner to make use of Google Search as a substitute.

Perplexity, then again, does precisely what I need from an assistant: it pulls real-time alternate charges from more than one resources and obviously gifts them, albeit with out the beautiful charts this time. More importantly, even though, it plays this activity persistently each and every unmarried time.

Next, I requested each assistants, “Where can I watch the re-release of Interstellar this weekend?” Here, Gemini did precisely what I’d be expecting the decade-old Google Assistant to do: it flat out refused to search for a solution. It’s rather an embarrassing consequence, to mention the least.

Meanwhile, Perplexity carried out a snappy seek and analyzed 8 resources to provide a launch date and tips about the right way to e-book tickets. From right here, I merely used Google’s Circle to Search and navigated to one of the vital reserving web sites myself. Is Perplexity’s reaction very best? Not in any respect, but it surely’s a large step up over Gemini.

While maximum competing virtual assistants on Android prevent at answering questions, that’s no longer the case with Perplexity. Like Gemini, you’ll be able to ask it to accomplish a handful of phone-related duties like ship a textual content message or e-mail, name a touch, and open an app. It too can play track by means of Spotify and set reminders.

Impressively, Perplexity can perceive obscure directions like “Remind me to look at the following season of The White Lotus when it releases.” Here, you’d be expecting the assistant to search for the display’s launch date first and set a reminder accordingly and that’s precisely what Perplexity does.

When I attempted the similar instructed with Gemini, I used to be horrified to search out that it merely arrange a role with all of the textual content as a substitute of following the directions on the finish. This is the type of inconsistency that makes Google’s AI revel in so irritating to are living with and doubtlessly bad when you depend on it for the rest necessary.

Perplexity too can carry out more than one duties without delay, very similar to Gemini’s multi-extension capability that Samsung showcased on the fresh Galaxy S25 release match. For instance, it might probably in finding within reach Thai eating places and set a reminder to e-book a desk at one later.

On that be aware, Perplexity has a few cool methods up its sleeve. For one, you’ll be able to ask it to e-book a desk and it is going to carry you to the eating place’s OpenTable web page to arrange a reservation. Likewise, you’ll be able to e-book an Uber experience the use of simply your voice — I examined it with the instructed “Get me a experience to the airport” and it labored as anticipated. Perplexity has an incredibly excellent care for at localized tips too. It controlled to provide me instructions to the closest espresso store (a non-chain location at that) and reserving a cab to the spot was once simply some other voice command away.

Finally, Perplexity too can learn the contents of your display screen when required. This manner you’ll be able to instruct it to do such things as summarize the contents of your display screen after which ship the outcome as an e-mail to a chum. Or as I generally tend to make use of it probably the most, translate a overseas language. Gemini has introduced this option for some time now, so I’m satisfied I didn’t lose it once I switched to Perplexity Assistant.

Perplexity can have the higher hand in some spaces, but it surely’s no longer precisely equivalent to Gemini but both. Unlike Perplexity, Google’s assistant can learn your emails, get right of entry to information from Drive, and combine extra seamlessly with services and products like Tasks and Assistant Routines. The closest Perplexity can get to studying your inbox is summarizing your notifications, which is beneficial however nowhere close to as tough.

Another key distinction is the way you invoke every assistant. Gemini helps a wake phrase for hands-free activation, while Perplexity calls for retaining down the facility button or the use of a diagonal swipe gesture. I in my opinion don’t thoughts this since I’m most often retaining my cellphone once I need help, but it surely’s a notable limitation however. Perplexity additionally lacks any good house controls in this day and age — even though that is probably not a dealbreaker when you already personal good audio system.

The one lacking piece that may well be tougher to forget about is calendar integration. As of now, Perplexity can’t hyperlink to a calendar, that means you’ll be able to’t test or upload occasions. This is an simply solved downside through the years, even though, as quite a lot of different apps can help you hyperlink your Google account for calendar and Drive get right of entry to.

With those downsides then, must you turn to Perplexity? It comes right down to what you want out of your cellphone’s virtual assistant. If your precedence is getting solutions to questions reliably, regardless of how vaguely worded, Perplexity is the awesome selection unquestionably. But if you want your assistant to interface without delay along with your virtual lifestyles, Gemini holds the threshold in the intervening time.

For now, I’ve made my transfer, and I don’t be apologetic about it. Gemini may appreciably enhance one day, however Perplexity does the entirety I would like after which some. More than the rest, I’m simply satisfied there’s genuine festival on this area. After all, it was once only some years in the past that the stagnating Google Assistant was once the one viable possibility.