If there’s one thing that’s frustratingly predictable about the tech industry, it’s that the latest and greatest always lands on the most expensive devices first. Budget phone owners are used to being an afterthought. Google is trying to change that, at least when it comes to AI.
Google just rolled out Gemini Go, bringing its AI assistant to Android Go devices with as little as 2GB of RAM. For those unfamiliar, Android Go is Google’s lightweight version of Android built for budget and entry-level smartphones. Gemini Go replaces Assistant Go and is baked into the Google app, so there’s no separate download. A long press of the Home button or Power key launches it. According to Google, it handles the usual assistant tasks like calls, texts, alarms, and calendar events. But it also supports more conversational queries, file and photo uploads, and even mood-based music playback.
The rollout is gradual, so not everyone will see it right away. Updating the Google app in the Play Store is the best way to check.
Google Is Done Leaving Budget Phones Behind
And here’s where it gets interesting. Every other major AI player is racing upmarket. Apple Intelligence requires 8GB of RAM. Samsung’s Galaxy AI starts with the S24 series. ChatGPT on Android needs a reliable internet connection and has no lightweight mode to speak of. Even Google’s own Gemini Intelligence tier now requires 12GB of RAM and a Nano v3 chipset, which excludes the Pixel 9 and Galaxy S25.
Google is the only company going in both directions at once. That matters because Android Go devices represent a massive slice of the global phone market, particularly in developing regions where budget hardware is the norm, not the exception. We’ve already seen Google push Gemini into Android Auto and kill off Assistant on Android Auto entirely. This seems like the next logical step.
