HONOR is making Gemini the default assistant on its Magic7 Pro

When Google debuted its Gemini mobile app last February, it kept the old Assistant service up and running as its replacement needed to play catch-up. Today, most users still have to opt in to use Gemini over Google Assistant, including on most new Android devices. There are a few exceptions to this, though, such as the Google Pixel 9 which came with Gemini enabled out of the box. This year, however, Gemini will be preloaded as the default assistant on even more Android devices, including two upcoming flagships from HONOR.

Ahead of the global launch of its Magic7 Pro and PORSCHE DESIGN Magic7 RSR, HONOR has announced that it plans to integrate Google Gemini AI capabilities into these two phones. These two phones will be HONOR's first to have the Gemini app preinstalled, which will help expose Google's AI chatbot to even more users. Technically, the Gemini assistant service is already preloaded on nearly every Android phone as it's part of the Google Search app, but it's not the default assistant service. Making Gemini the default assistant may encourage more users to try it. Google has improved the Gemini assistant service considerably since its initial debut last February, so even users who gave up on it originally might come around on it now if it's presented to them.

HONOR already leverages Google's Gemini AI to power many of its AI software features, so today's announcement only furthers the integration of Google's AI services on HONOR devices. For example, features like HONOR AI Notes, AI Photo Expansion, AI Style, and AI Translation utilize either Google's cloud-based Gemini models or its Imagen 3 text-to-image model. HONOR was also one of the first to bring Circle to Search support to its phones. The company teases that future HONOR devices will feature even deeper AI integrations, and it's likely that these integrations will utilize Google's AI models given the close partnership between the two companies.