Google is really good at diluting any possible anticipation hardcore users might have for new stuff they do. 10 years ago I loved when there was a big update to one of their Android apps and I could sideload the apk from the internet to try it out early. Then they made all those changes A/B tests controlled by server side flags that would randomly turn themselves on and off, and there was no way to opt in or out. That was one of the (many) moves that contributed to my becoming disenchanted with Android.

I think the way to understand this is to realize that this isn’t targeted at a Hacker News audience and they don’t care what we think. The world doesn’t revolve around us.

What’s the goal? Maybe, being able to work with partners without it being a secret project that will inevitably leak, resulting in inaccurate stories in the press. What are non-goals? Driving sales or creating anticipation, like a movie trailer or an Apple product launch.

So they have to announce something, but most people don’t read Hacker News and won’t even hear about it until later, and that’s fine with them.

There is a Gemini service that you can use with your Google account, but it's kind of meh as it repeats your input, makes all sorts of assumptions. I am confused as well about the version. There's a link to another premium version (1.5?) on its page, to which I don't have access to without completing a quest which likely ends with a credit card input. That kills it for me.

Or can't use ... I have a newish work account and downloaded Gemini on a Pixel 8 Pro and get "Gemini isn't available" and "Try again later" with no explanation of why not and when.

This is it. Not a phone app, did not install anything. Maybe your account is not old enough? You're not missing anything anyway.

https://gemini.google.com/

Look, it now has totally useless suggestions like it was trained on burned out woke IT workers. I asked it about the weather, sea temperature and wave height and period in Malaga, which is much less boring than the choices it came up with. First it tried to talk me out of it waving away responsibility, then it provided useful climate data, which I would have wasted too much time doing a Google search on. I guess it's good for checking on the weather if you can put up with the waivers. Also it knows fishing for garfish in Denmark in May is not a total waste of your time, a great way to experience local culture and a sustainable activity.

I also asked it about the version: "I am currently running on the Gemini Pro 1.01.5 model".