Gemini update brings 2.0 Flash Experimental model and Google Home, Photos extensions to iOS app

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It'll be a major boost to the availability of Gemini features for iPhone users.

The Gemini 2.0 graphic provided by Google.
(Image credit: Google)

What you need to know

  • The public build of the Gemini app for iOS is getting Gemini 2.0 Experimental models before the Android version.
  • Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental hit the Gemini app in the Android beta channel earlier this week.
  • Additionally, the iOS app supports more languages and extensions.

Google is continuing to roll out experimental features based on its Gemini 2.0 models, and now, the Gemini app for iOS is starting to get feature parity with its Android counterpart. The most recent Gemini app update hit the App Store today, Dec. 18, per the release notes. In it, Google included support for experimental Gemini 2.0 models and support for two more Gemini extensions.

Currently, updating to version 1.2024.4970016 of the Gemini app for iOS adds the option for Gemini Advanced subscribers to use Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental. This is an early version of Google's smaller, lightweight AI model. Although the app's release notes describe the update as adding support for "our latest experimental Gemini 2.0 models," only 2.0 Flash Experimental appears to be live at the moment. The higher-end model, Gemini 2.0 Experimental, hit the Gemini web client Dec. 17 but isn't available in the mobile app.

Notably, the Gemini app for iOS is receiving the Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental model before the Android app. The functionality reached beta testers this week, while it went straight to public release on the iOS version. It still requires Gemini Advanced, which costs $20 per month.

Gemini on iPhone can help students learn and study various subjects.

(Image credit: Google)

The iPhone app got a few other upgrades, too. It's available in the following 11 new languages: Bulgarian, Estonian, Gujarati, Kannada, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malayalam, Serbian, Slovenian, Swahili, and Urdu. Additionally, Gemini Live support was added for the following 21 languages: Bengali, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Gujarati, Hungarian, Kannada, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malayalam, Marathi, Norwegian Bokmål, Romanian, Slovenian, Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Ukrainian, and Urdu.

Gemini Advanced users can also agree to store their personal information to get better responses from Gemini. Plus, "conversation starters" are coming to the Gemini app for iOS for non-subscribers.

Two new extensions are arriving on the platform for the first time, too. The Google Home extension launched on Android last month, and it's now available for iOS. The same goes for the Google Photos extension.

As it tries to build up Gemini to compete with ChatGPT, it has done a decent job of bringing its best features to both versions of the Gemini mobile app — iOS and Android. This time around, the public build of the Gemini app for iOS is getting a hit feature before the Android version.

Brady Snyder
Brady Snyder
Contributor

Brady is a tech journalist for Android Central, with a focus on news, phones, tablets, audio, wearables, and software. He has spent the last three years reporting and commenting on all things related to consumer technology for various publications. Brady graduated from St. John's University with a bachelor's degree in journalism. His work has been published in XDA, Android Police, Tech Advisor, iMore, Screen Rant, and Android Headlines. When he isn't experimenting with the latest tech, you can find Brady running or watching Big East basketball.