I woke up to a pleasant surprise this morning as the highly anticipated Gemini app, despite not officially showing availability in Kenya through the Google Play Store, functioned flawlessly on my phone. While Google’s announcement last week indicated a wider rollout starting this week, the app was absent for Kenyan users. However, early adopters like yours truly who sideloaded the APK last week can now successfully take advantage of Gemini app, contrary to the official listing.
I downloaded the APK last week, but launching it triggered a message stating I was in an unsupported region. See the screenshot I took below at the time.
But today, to my surprise, it just worked! I was able to control my Google Nest speakers and Chromecast with Google TV seamlessly through Gemini. Below is a screenshot of the welcome message I saw on my phone this morning when I launched Gemini.
While the official Play Store listing remains inconclusive, my firsthand account suggests the Gemini app is functional in Kenya. It’s important to note that some Google Assistant features are still unavailable, but Google has assured users of future updates addressing these limitations.
This unexpected development should be a welcome in Kenyan tech circles, especially those eager to explore the functionalities of Gemini. The app’s ability to control smart home devices seamlessly within the Kenyan region indicates potential for wider adoption and integration with the smart home ecosystem.
Whether this is a localized glitch or an intentional soft launch remains unclear. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as Google officially clarifies the availability of Gemini in Kenya.
If interested, check out the APK Mirror and download the Gemini APK for manual installation.
