Welcome to episode 95 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, Damien, Abner, and Will take a deep dive into the world of Gemini, breaking down Google&#x27;s frequent UI changes, the different ways all three hosts use the service, and how it needs to evolve moving forward. Damien also walks Abner and Will through his experience using Gemini with Android Auto, and how it&#x27;s more of a mixed bag than you might think. Subscribe YouTube Podcasts Pocket Casts Spotify Apple Podcasts Overcast Sponsored by Proton Unlimited: Pixelated listeners can save 30% on an annual subscription to the company&#x27;s suite of privacy-friendly services by signing up using our link. Thanks to Proton Unlimited for sponsoring the podcast.

A Gemini Vibe Check

Pixelated

# Full Transcript

**Podcast:** Pixelated

## Transcript

Welcome to Pixelated, episode 95. I'm your host, Will Sattelberg. This week, Damien Wilde and I are going big picture to talk all about our current relationship with Gemini. From how we use Google's AI Assistant and where we found it the most helpful, to our fair share of complaints and shortcomings, it's a great snapshot of where Gemini lives today as we continue towards next month's IEL. Plus, Damien tells us all about his not-so-awesome experience using Gemini with Android Auto.

So, it's all coming up right after this. Grab your phone and take a look at your app drawer right now. You've probably found yourself relying on these same old apps and services since the Nexus days, and what suited you best back then might not be the right choice in 2026. Luckily, Proton can help bring you into a privacy-first ecosystem built for our modern age. Proton offers practically every service you could possibly need under the sun across every platform,

including email, calendar, file storage, password management, document editors, and, of course, a trusted VPN. Built with class-leading end-to-end encryption, Proton's entire suite is fast, intuitive, and secure, and export tools mean you don't need to worry about leaving data behind on those other apps. Pixelated listeners can save 30% off an annual subscription to Proton Unlimited,

which includes 500 gigabytes of cloud storage, custom email domains, a dedicated customer support team, and so, so much more. It's what's best for your current phone, not whatever you were using back in 2013. Upgrade to Proton today and save 30% on your annual subscription by heading to Proton.me slash 9to5Google, or by clicking the link in the show notes. That's Proton.me slash 9to5Google. Thanks to Proton for sponsoring Pixelated.

So another week, another Gemini tweak. This time with regards to the UI looks completely different. Completely different to what we've seen over the last couple of years. I'm not going to lie, Abner, I think this reminds me a little bit, dare I say it, a little bit of the original Google Assistant UI. No, this is... Almost like card style? The UI is rapidly changing and it's still rapidly iterating in a way that I think is...

Okay, so let's talk about the change. So this is right now the change to the Gemini overlay. There is, instead of two distinct menus, two distinct sheets, one for the attachments, the plus, and one for the tools, Google is moving to combine it into one menu. So that you just have one plus button.

So I guess from Google's point of view, it's simplifying things so that users just have one thing to interact with. I think that's fine. It looks better on mobile than it does on the web where there is a weird drop-down situation. Two drop-downs in one pop-up menu. But the mobile one looks fine. But at the same time, it's...

Again, the simplicity as to why they're doing it. So users just go to one place. And I think at the en...

A Gemini Vibe Check

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.

A Gemini Vibe Check

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are findingedge in conversations you're not hearing.

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.