Google has pulled the plug on Google Assistant on smartphones. With version 17.60 of the Google app (and the 17.62 beta), the option to choose the Assistant instead of Gemini has disappeared from the settings on Android devices — according to heise online, which cites 9to5Google and user reports on Reddit.
The phase-out had been announced in March 2025, when Google said the Assistant — introduced at I/O 2016 — would be replaced by the end of 2025. That deadline slipped to March 2026, and then quietly passed. Google said in August that the rollover would begin in early September.
The change is not limited to phones. According to Google's support forum, the Assistant is also being replaced on Wear OS smartwatches, on compatible headphones and earbuds, and in Android Auto, which mirrors the phone. The main exception is vehicles with Android Automotive and Google built-in: where a Google Assistant is installed, it continues to work after 3 September 2026.
On smart-home devices, Gemini for Home remains an opt-in preview, so the Assistant is still available there. heise notes that Gemini on phones is still not entirely polished. Google has been preparing users for the shift with features such as real-time avatars for its Gemini voice agents.
