Google Bard Set for Rebrand as Gemini; Android App and Enhanced Subscription Model on the Horizon: Report
Exclusive Insight: Google Bard’s Advanced Tier to Leverage Gemini Ultra 1.0 AI Model
A recent report suggests that Google Bard is on the brink of a significant transformation, potentially ushering in a new era with a fresh name and an Android app. According to a screenshot shared by a tipster on February 7, Bard’s changelog unveils a series of major announcements regarding the AI chatbot.
Foremost among them is the anticipated rebranding of Bard to Gemini, emphasizing the foundation model driving the chatbot’s capabilities. Additionally, the leak hints at the official unveiling of the previously confirmed paid Advanced tier and the imminent launch of a dedicated Android application.
The screenshot, shared by tipster Dylan Roussel, purportedly originated from Bard’s web interface and outlined several updates planned by Google. The reported changelog notably stated, “We’re committed to giving everyone direct access to Google AI and, as of this week, every Gemini user across our supported countries and languages has access to Google’s best family of AI models. To better reflect this commitment, we’ve renamed Bard to Gemini.”
This development aligns with a previous report by 9to5Google, which observed that all references to Bard in the latest Google app beta version have been replaced with Gemini. If the latest leak holds true, this transition appears to encompass not just the mobile application but the entire product. However, it’s essential to note that independent verification of these claims is pending.
Apart from the renaming, the leaked changelog also showed the announcement for Gemini Advanced (which was previously believed to be Google Bard Advanced). The announcement highlighted that it will be a paid version of the chatbot, powered by Google’s most powerful foundational model, Gemini Ultra.
At launch, Ultra 1.0 will power the Advanced tier, as per the report. The changelog mentioned that the paid version will be able to do “highly complex tasks like coding, logical reasoning, following nuanced instructions, and creative collaboration.” The Gemini Ultra-powered chatbot will also reportedly get exclusive features and expanded multimodal capabilities.
A new Android app was also announced in the changelog. It mentioned that the mobile app will be integrated with all Google apps. Users will be able to interact with it through text, voice, or images. The app is reportedly named Gemini app and it will not be available for iOS at the time. However, the announcement mentioned that iOS users can try Gemini in the Google app.
Recently, Google Bard received a big update that added an AI image generator to the chatbot. To make the generated images easily identifiable as AI-generated, Google used the DeepMind-created SynthID, which adds an invisible-to-the-eye digital watermark to images. Alongside, the tech giant also expanded Google Bard to more than 230 countries and territories, and said that it will now support more than 40 languages.
