Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR
- A teardown of the Google app hints that you simply’ll be capable of maintain down the aspect button on Samsung units to launch Gemini.
- The aspect button on Samsung units can at the moment solely launch both Bixby or the facility off menu when it’s held down.
- This function may arrive within the subsequent model of One UI, which is about to debut very quickly.
Samsung Galaxy telephones and tablets, like most different Android units, help each of Google’s voice assistant providers. You may invoke both Google Assistant or Google Gemini on Galaxy units by saying a hotword like “Hey Google” or by swiping inward from one of many backside corners. You may’t, nonetheless, invoke them by urgent and holding on the facility button (or “aspect button” as Samsung calls it). Thankfully, that might change in an upcoming launch of One UI.
On most Android telephones, urgent and holding the aspect button launches the default assistant service, even when it isn’t considered one of Google’s providers. This isn’t the case on Samsung telephones, nonetheless, as they launch the corporate’s Bixby service even should you haven’t set it because the default assistant. Whereas Samsung does allow you to customise what urgent and holding the aspect button does, you possibly can solely change it to launch the facility off menu as an alternative of Bixby.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
Fortunately, Samsung might quickly lastly allow you to lengthy press the aspect button to launch Gemini as an alternative of Bixby. Whereas I used to be digging via the newest model of the Google app for Android, I found strings that trace at this new functionality. The strings are a part of the Gemini intro display that’ll seem within the setup wizard for Samsung units. They inform the consumer that they’ll “maintain down the Aspect button to speak to Gemini.” You may inform these strings are particularly aimed toward Samsung units as their names have “_samsung” in them.
Code
<string title="assistant_suw_gemini_intro_screen_item_title_1_for_lpp_samsung">Press & maintain the Aspect button</string>
<string title="assistant_suw_gemini_intro_screen_item_message_1_for_lpp_samsung">Maintain down the Aspect button to speak to Gemini</string>
<string title="assistant_onboarding_welcome_footer_row_samsung">To shortly entry Gemini, press &amp; maintain the Aspect button. Change this anytime in Settings. To speak to Gemini, activate &#8220;Hey Google.&#8221; <a href=%1$s>Be taught extra</a></string>
<string title="assistant_onboarding_welcome_footer_row_samsung_clickable_part_settings">Settings</string>One other model of those strings that point out “energy button” as an alternative of “Aspect button” additionally seems within the Google app. These strings are a part of the Gemini intro display as effectively, however they’ll seem within the setup wizard for non-Samsung units as an alternative. It’s because different manufacturers sometimes don’t use the time period “aspect button” to discuss with the “energy button” like Samsung does.
The truth that the Google app now has strings informing the consumer about how they’ll invoke Gemini by urgent and holding the aspect button means that Samsung plans so as to add this performance quickly. We don’t know precisely when this transformation may occur, nevertheless it’s attainable we’ll get it within the upcoming One UI 7 launch. We may even see it within the setup wizard of the brand new Samsung Galaxy S25 sequence, which may debut as quickly as just a bit over a month from now.
In any case, it’s good to see Samsung open up the aspect button to different assistants. Hopefully Gemini gained’t be the one assistant you could launch by lengthy urgent the aspect button on Samsung units, however we’ll have to attend for both One UI 7 or the Galaxy S25 to be launched to seek out out.
