Google just gave every Windows 10 and 11 PC a Gemini key — I tried it, and it’s the easiest way to use its AI yet | Daily Reports Online
- Google’s new Gemini app brings its AI assistant directly to Windows 10 and 11
- Pressing [Alt] + [Space] summons Gemini without interrupting your current workflow
- It’s remarkably convenient, although there’s still room for improvement
You can say goodbye to opening a browser every time you want to use Gemini on your PC. Google has just released a Windows version of its Gemini app, and it’s by far the easiest and quickest way to get Google’s AI to answer your questions on Windows.
Gemini has had a macOS app for a while now, and now it has finally been joined by a dedicated Windows version, complete with its own keyboard shortcut. You can summon it from anywhere, no matter what you’re doing on your PC, by pressing [Alt] + [Space].
But here’s the thing: [Alt] + [Space] is already a little crowded on Windows. It traditionally opens the active window’s system menu, and is also the default shortcut for Microsoft’s PowerToys Run utility, a quick launcher for Windows power users that provides instant access to applications, files, calculator functions and system commands.
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On my PC
On my PC, installing the Gemini app caused it to take over the [Alt] + [Space] keyboard shortcut, so it now launches Gemini instead. I’ve been using the new app for a few hours, and the shortcut is a great way to access Gemini almost instantly. It saves me from messing around with browser tabs and breaking my workflow. I love it.
The Gemini app can also connect to other Google apps, including Gmail and Drive. Provided you’re in an eligible country, such as the US, and subscribe to Google AI Pro or Google AI Ultra, you can also hand multi-step tasks over to Gemini Spark, Google’s personal AI agent.
The app does everything the web version does, so you can create custom images with Nano Banana and even make high-quality videos with Gemini Omni from inside it.
What didn’t I like about the app?
However, I’m not a fan of the way the app permanently displays your location at the bottom of the left-hand sidebar. This creates a significant privacy risk, especially if you’re using it at home. I don’t want my home address accidentally ending up in screenshots I take of my desktop, for example.
There’s no obvious way to remove your location either. All you can do is close the sidebar if you don’t want it displayed, and that’s not a great user experience.
The second thing I didn’t like was the lack of a Gemini Live experience in the app, like the one available in the mobile version on both iOS and Android. Live is Gemini’s voice mode, allowing you to talk to it much as you would a person. It can also look through your phone’s camera at the world around you, letting you ask questions about what it sees.
I can imagine that a Gemini Live experience capable of “seeing” what’s on your PC desktop and answering questions about it would be very helpful, but it looks like we’ll have to wait for that. For now you’re limited to taking screenshots, then uploading them to Gemini via the app and asking questions about what’s on them.
Google says more native desktop capabilities will roll out over time. For now, it’s the convenience of combining the Windows app with its keyboard shortcut that wins the day. I hope Google addresses my complaints in a future version, but they’re not enough to stop me choosing the app as my go-to Gemini experience instead of the web version.
If you want to try it, the Gemini app is available globally for Windows 10 and 11 users. You can download it today.
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