Google may already be having second thoughts about this recent Gemini change

By this point, smartphone owners are well used to the idea of apps that are constantly being updated, but AI has really taken that to the next level. When we’re not full-on seeing new models arrive, it feels like there’s always at least something else new in play, whether that’s added functionality, app connectivity, or just a tweaked interface. A couple weeks back, we saw Google start rolling out a new UI for Gemini, with “Chat” and “Task” buttons to get started. But now we’re wondering if Google’s already planning to change that up.

It clearly took a long time for Google to settle on that choice of Chat/Task buttons, as you see below on the left. In the months leading up to that rollout, we saw Google considering an “Assign” button, or an “Assign task” menu option. And now with version 17.72.13.sa.arm64 of the Google Android app, we’ve spotted what sure looks like another revision in the works.

With this release, we can see Google preparing a new settings option, previewed above on the middle and right screens. The new “Answer type” entry would allow Gemini users to choose Task or Chat as their default, rather than selecting each time they go to interact with the app.

After making their choice, users would get either the Chat or Task interface when opening Gemini:

It’s a curious change, given the way it feels like such an outright rejection of the only-recently-added new interface. That said, we have no real sense for how serious Google might be about pushing this out as the official new look for Gemini, and the company may just be feeling things out right now.

If you’re heavily into either standard Gemini Chats or getting things done with Tasks, especially if that’s to the exclusion of the other, we suppose this approach makes enough sense. And compared to the chips we have now, this is arguably a cleaner approach. But it also feels like one that’s a lot less flexible, with more work required from users interested in taking advantage of everything that Gemini’s capable of.

As a result, we’ll be very curious to see where Google goes with this. Will it be another series of behind-the-scenes tweaks over the next few months before a fresh UI rolls out? Or could Google already be planning an abrupt about-face on a look that only just arrived? We’ll be keeping a close eye on future Google app updates in the hopes of learning how this turns out.