At MWC 2025, Google confirmed that its experimental Project Astra assistant will roll out widely in March. It seems the feature has started reaching out to users, albeit in a phased manner, beginning with Android smartphones.
On Reddit, one user shared a demo video that shows a new “Share Screen With Live” option when the Gemini Assistant is summoned. Moreover, the Gemini Live interface also received two new options for live video and screen sharing.
Google has also confirmed to The Verge that the aforementioned features are now on the rollout trajectory. So far, Gemini has only been capable of contextual on-screen awareness courtesy of the “Ask about screen” feature.
In case you aren’t familiar, Project Astra is the most futuristic iteration of an AI that can understand text, audio, picture, video, and live camera feed in real-time. Google Deepmind’s research director, Greg Wayne, likened it to a “little parrot on your shoulder that’s hanging out with you and talking to you about the world.”
When you summon Gemini and enable the Share Screen With Live option in any app, it will analyze the on-screen content and will answer queries based on it. For example, users can ask it to describe the current activity happening in an app, break down or summarize any article they were reading, or talk to them about the scene during video playback.
The more impressive capability is the world understanding system. When you switch to the Live mode for Gemini, it now shows a video feed option that opens the camera. In this mode, if you point your camera at any object, Gemini will be able to see, comprehend, and answer questions based on what it sees.
Pointing the camera at a book passage, asking Gemini to tell more about a monument, getting advice on decor, or solving problems written on a board or book — Gemini Live’s Project Astra upgrade can do it all. It is not too different from Apple’s Visual Intelligence on iPhones, or the open-source HuggingSnap app that promises an offline world-understanding AI.
Digital Trends got a demo of Project Astra at MWC earlier this year, getting an early taste of a massively upgraded AI assistant experience on smartphones. It is worth pointing out that Gemini Live’s Project Astra upgrade will be limited to customers who pay for a Gemini Advanced subscription.
It seems the scale of this Project Astra update rollout isn’t too wide at the moment. I have a Gemini Advanced subscription via Google One AI Premium bundle, but don’t see it yet on any of my Pixel phones running the latest stable version of Android 15 or the beta build of Android 16.
Over the past few months, all eyes have been fixated on Apple and what the company is going to do with AI. The pressure is palpable and well deserved.
What’s happened? Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “godfather of AI,” told the Ai4 conference that making AI “submissive” is a losing strategy and propose
The shift away from Google Assistant, and into the Gemini era, is nearly in its last stages. One can feel nostalgic about the eponymous virtual assist
Google’s AI efforts are synonymous with Gemini, which has now become an integral element of its most popular products across the Worksuite software an
Google has announced a wide range of upgrades for its Gemini assistant today. To start, the new Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental model now allow
Update: Google has responded to Digital Trends’ queries. The story has been updated with company’s statement below.The rise of generative AI has been
We are a dynamic information platform dedicated to delivering timely, relevant, and reliable content across a broad spectrum of topics. From the latest in technology and business to lifestyle, health, and global affairs, we aim to keep our readers informed and inspired.
Our editorial team is committed to maintaining high standards of accuracy and clarity, ensuring that every article provides value and context in an ever-changing world. We believe in the importance of accessible knowledge and strive to make complex topics understandable for everyone.
Whether you're here to stay updated on current events, explore thought-provoking features, or simply learn something new, our goal is to offer a trustworthy source of information that meets the needs of a diverse and curious audience.