A report published September 29 said the option to switch from Gemini back to Google Assistant was missing on three checked Android phones running Google app beta v17.62. Android Auto is included among the paired devices covered by the reported transition, while the latest checks focused on phones and accounts.
The Assistant switch is missing on some checked phones
The three phones named in the September 29 report were the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, POCO F9 Ultra, and vivo X300 Pro. Each was running Google app beta v17.62 when the switch-back option was found to be missing.
Checks reported September 28 also found the option absent on some US and European accounts and devices using Google app 17.60 stable and 17.62 beta. Those observations describe specific accounts, devices, and app versions—not a single setting that changed everywhere at once.
What the transition means for Android Auto
The reported transition scope includes phones, tablets, and paired devices such as Android Auto, Wear OS, and headphones. The September device checks were on phones, so they do not establish that the switch has disappeared from every Android Auto setup.
Google’s November 2025 Android Auto announcement described Gemini for users who had already upgraded to Gemini on their phones. The company said its global rollout covered 45 languages. That feature rollout is a separate step from the reported 2026 removal of the option to switch back.
Google’s transition timeline
Google announced its plan in March 2025: more mobile Google Assistant users would move to Gemini, and classic Assistant would later become inaccessible on most mobile devices. Google said at the time that Assistant functionality would not change on mobile devices that did not meet Gemini’s minimum system requirements.
On November 20, 2025, Google announced the start of Gemini’s Android Auto rollout for phone users who had upgraded. The staged removal of Assistant was reported to have started September 4, 2026, with the process expected to take several weeks.
What Gemini can do in Android Auto
Google described conversational requests, route stops informed by business reviews, message editing and summaries, Gmail lookup, music requests, and Gemini Live in beta. Its Android Auto demonstration shows Gemini searching email, finding a stop along a route, brainstorming gift ideas, summarizing messages, and sending an ETA reply.
Some Android Auto users have described delays and trouble with music, contacts, or message handling. Those are individual experiences, not system-wide performance measurements.
Google’s instructions for using Gemini in Android Auto say to select Gemini as the preferred assistant on the phone. In the car, drivers can say “Hey Google,” tap the screen’s microphone button, or long-press the steering-wheel voice-control button.
Home speakers and built-in car systems are separate
The reported mobile phase does not include Google Home and Nest speakers or displays; Google Assistant remains available on those devices during this transition. Android Auto is the phone-projected system, while Android Automotive is a separate built-in vehicle platform.
