Google brings Gemini Live to CarPlay for iPhone users

iPhone owners can now talk to Gemini from the car's dashboard screen. Google turned on Gemini Live in Apple CarPlay on Wednesday, in a rollout the company calls global and open to every Gemini user on iOS.

Drivers tap the Gemini icon on the screen and talk hands-free. First, the app needs updating, it needs microphone permission, and Gemini Live must have been opened once on the phone. Conversations sync with the app, so the history is waiting when the car is parked.

Google pitches checking the calendar, catching up on email, rehearsing a presentation or getting a rundown of the day drawn from Gmail and Calendar. That rundown, called Daily Brief, is switched on separately. Google excludes anyone under 18 and two regions: the European Economic Area and Nigeria.

The feature works in "every supported Gemini Live language," the company says, without listing which languages or countries those are. Whether it is already live in Mexico and in Spanish is not confirmed. Everything described here is Google's own account; there is no independent testing.

Android Auto still has no date

A day earlier, Google previewed proactive suggestions from Gemini Intelligence that are "coming soon" to Android Auto, on Pixel phones with that feature. It gave no date. In Google's example, a friend asks where the pilates class is, and Gemini finds the confirmation email and offers to send the address with one tap.

The feature needs prior setup and depends on country, language and the user being 18 or older. Google did not say whether Samsung, Motorola or other brands will get it.

The assistant was already available on Android Auto and in cars with Google built in. Inside CarPlay, the Google Maps app has offered conversational navigation with Gemini since Oct. 21, starting with U.S. drivers only. The new feature is a general conversation, not tied to a route. Google has not announced proactive suggestions for CarPlay.

On iPhone, the feature is available now to anyone who updates the app. On Android, Pixel owners are still waiting for a date.