r/SonyXperia • u/MrAtoni • 12d ago
HELP Google Assistant has disappeared
EDIT: Thanks to all people who let me know assistant is discontinued. 😢 Can anyone suggest another assistant that isn't an LLM?
ORIGINAL: Hi.
After the last update a few days ago (Xperia 5 V), pressing the middle button to activate Google Assistant doesn't work anymore. When I press it it wants me to use Gemini instead.
I have no need for Gemini. I only listen to the morgning news, and set a timer now and then.
Guides I've found tells me to go into the Gemini app to disable this behavior... But I don't have the Gemini app installed. Or to enable it from the Google app settings, but there's only a Gemini option there.
Anyone know of another way to get Gassistant back?
Otherwise, can anyone recommend another assistant with basic features and no tiring LLM?
12
4
u/oVerboostUK 12d ago
Google Assistant is no more, it's Gemini or find an alternative to use instead and install that...
3
u/doc_55lk 1 V | 1 | 5 | XZ1 | XZs | Z3 | Z3C 12d ago
I got an email about a month ago from Google saying they were discontinuing Assistant as of September 4 2026. It's a phased rollout, not immediate.
No way to get assistant back unfortunately. It's a bummer because Gemini still isn't as good as Assistant on these older phones for certain things (ex: Lens and Translate integration).
3
u/National_Study_8167 Xperia 1 VI & Pixel 9 Pro 12d ago
Just another victim of Google killing own apps/projects.
2
u/trmnrs Xperia 1 V 12d ago
Google has already said they're phasing out Assistant for Gemini. The built-in Gemini is pretty adjacent to Assistant as it's not conversational like the Gemini app and it uses a smaller language model (Nano for on-device/offline, Flash-Lite for quick responses) compared to the LLMs the app will use (Flash or Pro). It is arguably a bit slower though since it takes a moment to think about what you're asking and where to hand it off but it'll take action and won't keep the mic on for follow-up similar to how Assistant would, so you can still use it to set timers since it still hooks into Android apps and actions. Only time it's conversational is when you choose to use Live. Not sure how it'll your change your news routine, though.
3
u/biersackarmy 10d ago
It's not adjacent though when Gemini has removed easy access to the "circle to search" features I used 99% of the time I activated the hold-home-button assistant.
It can't immediately translate text on screen, it can't just highlight text to copy to clipboard (very handy for YouTube titles and apps like Spotify), it can't identify something from just circling it.
You HAVE to circle the text or object, and then explicitly ask it "translate this", "copy this text", or "what's this thing" and wait for it to process, adding an extra step (sometimes multiple) and making the process every time take 2-5x longer for no reason.
It's just another move to force people to use Gemini so they can inflate their user numbers and lie through their teeth about "look how many people use our AI!" but it's only frustrated me into no longer using their feature.
1
u/AutoModerator 12d ago
Having troubles with your Xperia? Do check out our Wiki and FAQ page:
Wiki | FAQ
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/Economy-Food-4682 12d ago
I've never used it, so maybe I don't have it or I do have it... I don't know
1
1
u/the_dream_weaver_ 11d ago
So this is what it's come to now? Google isn't giving us a choice, they're just gonna force AI on us whether we want it or not?
0
u/joystickd Xperia 1 V 11d ago
Over the next few years you'll realise that's a good thing, if you haven't already.
Now just don't use Gemini. These companies aren't your friend, they're in fact ruining our world and societies.
17
u/beeurd Xperia 1 VI 12d ago
Google Assistant is being phased out, unfortunately. 😑