Google Launches Native Gemini AI App for Mac

[amartinez1660]

I wonder if someone vibe coded it with Claude

(Jokes aside at using one AI to do another…)

Yes! One of the replies was that it’s an app prototyped with Antigravity (so google’s own AI, not just Claude).

Unlikely that it stayed like that and then started from scratch again, AI can give you a solid scaffolding barebones with the right libraries and structure to start a project.

Maybe that’s also why people are having complaints about the “login bug” setting that forces itself on every launch and background app daemon, sounds like vibe coded alright.

 

[bluecoast]

Why would I need to download a Gemini app when I have Siri built into my Mac?

/s

 

[Bill Anon]

Downloaded it and deleted it 30 minutes later when I found it automatically installs a setting to open automatically as a log in item. Deleting it in system settings does not solve the issue. It automatically returns it to the auto login setting. It takes control of the setting. Invasion of my privacy and control over my own machine. I've returned to the web app version. Plus, it makes my focus return to ChatGPT as the preferable AI service.

What? Google slurping data from users without their consent?

I can't imagine any such world where this would happen.

 

[Slo Pesci]

why is the gemini logo so dark looking? Like an off white. It's pure white on iPhone.

 

[krazzix]

Another AI app that won't work on my perfectly capable Intel Mac 😞

 

[svish]

Good to see this. Makes it easier to access! Will download and keep on my Mac.

 

[dumiku]

I 2nd that. It does everything I need it to do. And: I’d never pay a subscription fee for a chatbot, period.

That part free chat and, you switch model plus your conversations are save if you want to.

 

[dumiku]

Note that should be duck.ai. I just tried this for the first time, and it looks good.

Welcome on board.

 

[aknabi]

LLMs are nauseating

So are those gosh darn fingle-fangle automobiles... horses have always been good transport and damn fine animals... they are the way forward.

 

[fmcotton]

I installed the Gemini for Mac app but can't seem to login. When I try to sign in with my Google Account I get error message stating the page won't load.

 

[jennyp]

I installed the Gemini for Mac app but can't seem to login. When I try to sign in with my Google Account I get error message stating the page won't load.

Same here

 

[Zwhaler]

How do I uninstall it? It won't let me choose a specific model, it just says "Loading Models"

 

[LookingOut]

I use AI because, wurds hard, maff harder. Beep boop.

 

[dg1974]

I see the "open at login" one in system preferences, but where is the "background" one? Is it the "Google LLC" one below it (under "Allow in the Background") ?

As soon as I started it, Gemini app added this item (that I disabled but not removed):

 

[abowlby]

It's a real native Mac app too, built with Swift:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2044452464724967550

Love the little "from an idea to a native app in a few days" twist of the knife. 😂

 

[bluecoast]

I installed the Gemini for Mac app but can't seem to login. When I try to sign in with my Google Account I get error message stating the page won't load.

I asked Gemini to solve it for me.

It’s to do with safari’s https security protections.

TLDR: change chrome to be your default browser whilst you sign in & it’ll work fine.

 

[jennyp]

I asked Gemini to solve it for me.

It’s to do with safari’s https security protections.

TLDR: change chrome to be your default browser whilst you sign in & it’ll work fine.

I tried that and and it still didn't work. Maybe I should stick with "Safari’s https security protections"

 

[iMattPro]

Save me some disk space, Google Gemini (and Open AI and Claude)

 

[lotones]

Bring on the "I'll never let Google near my computer" posts. 🤣...

yeah, because it's a google product. "oooh, look... it's so shiny and free..." is inevitably followed by...

Downloaded it and deleted it 30 minutes later when I found it automatically installs a setting to open automatically as a log in item. Deleting it in system settings does not solve the issue. It automatically returns it to the auto login setting. It takes control of the setting. Invasion of my privacy and control over my own machine. I've returned to the web app version. Plus, it makes my focus return to ChatGPT as the preferable AI service.

And no matter how many shills google plants in the forums, that's unacceptable to some of us who would rather keep what's left of our privacy.

 

[alexjohnson]

Google is bringing Gemini to the Mac with a new native macOS app that's available starting today. Gemini for Mac can be activated with a keyboard shortcut, and it has built-in tools for generating images, analyzing what's on your screen, reviewing files, and more.

Gemini is the last of the three major AI services to have a dedicated Mac app, because OpenAI and Anthropic have had Mac apps for quite some time.

Gemini can be brought up anywhere on the Mac with an Option + Space keyboard command, so there's no need to swap over to a dedicated window. Option + Shift + Space is available for opening the full Gemini chat window. Gemini can also be accessed from the Dock or through the Menu Bar.

Any window on the Mac can be shared with Gemini, allowing Gemini to provide contextual assistance on anything that you're looking at. After activating Gemini, selecting the Share Window option will let Gemini see what it is you want to ask questions about. Gemini will need Accessibility access to read full pages in a browser window.

Nano Banana is available for creating images, and Veo can be used for generating videos.

Gemini for Mac is available for Macs running macOS 15 and later, and it is free to download and use. Free access to Gemini is limited, and Google has subscription plans with increased usage limits. Google AI Plus is $7.99 per month, Google AI Pro is $19.99 per month, and Google AI Ultra is $249.99 per month.

Google says that the Mac app is the first step toward a personal, proactive, and powerful desktop assistant, with more news to follow in the coming months.

Article Link: Google Launches Native Gemini AI App for Mac

It may be native but it's not very good? My usage has been minimal and not maybe what it is "for" but it can't do live conversation, like the iOS apps can. The mic cuts out after about 10 seconds, if that. You can't interrupt it even with text when it is forumulating a reply. To get it not to offer "suggestions" (I have one for ya Gemini, but it's not family friendly…!) it hallucinates about its own settings for it not to do that, which is pretty feeble. The fallback is, frequently, to suggest Chrome, or the web app version.

I know it's just a wrapper. But I honestly don't see the use case, other than — and I think this is honestly the main one — staking a claim to some keyboard shortcuts but that presupposes wanting to use it. They want to get round that by adding it to launch items. Er, no thanks.

 

[jkratz.36]

yeah, because it's a google product. "oooh, look... it's so shiny and free..." is inevitably followed by...



And no matter how many shills google plants in the forums, that's unacceptable to some of us who would rather keep what's left of our privacy.

That you think you actually have any "privacy" these days is amusing itself.

 

[jkratz.36]

Some of the comments here I can't tell if someone was trying to be funny or hasn't really used an LLM in a context in which it's very useful. Then there is the person who said "Too many people think AI is just a chatbot". Too many people think AI is just an LLM.

At work we just had to go thru 130 pages of Confluence content to create the first version of an on-boarding document. Atlassian Rovo to the rescue. It's a perfect use of an LLM. Or, end of year I have to do reviews of my team. Copilot to the rescue scanning through emails, Teams chats, etc to summarize what that person worked on over the year.

Google doesn't need to train Gemini on your data and they specifically note in their terms of service that they don't. I know its a popular thing to just spout off about stuff in Internet forums but for god's sake go and do some research into these tools first. Most of y'all sound like you should be living in a rubber room.

 

[zenmacx]

No. I take my privacy seriously, and I don't trust A.I. companies not to use people for free data harvesting. Think about how much money is being invested in A.I. They want a return on that investment, and I predict that all the big tech companies will rely on data collection to help get that return. Apple being the only exception.

While I too am wary of AI and other data harvesting tools, I wonder if Apple is indeed as they present when it comes to privacy.

 

[I WAS the one]

Gemini on Mac
I wonder why people prefer this option. I've been using AI on my Mac with assistants that allow you to use your own API through OpenRouter, which is more affordable and powerful than being limited to a single model for your entire experience. There are options like Bolt AI, Fluent AI, EnConvo AI, and many more! Why rely solely on Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT?

 

[lotones]

That you think you actually have any "privacy" these days is amusing itself.

lol... yeah, unfortunately you're probably right. But I've been skeptical about googling away my dwindling privacy long before it was fashionable... 🥸