# Gemini App for Windows The Gemini app for Windows is Google's desktop client for [[Gemini]]. It launched on September 10, 2026, a few months after the macOS app (April 2026), and completes the family with the [[Gemini Mobile App]]. The idea: keep Gemini one shortcut away while you work in other apps, instead of keeping a browser tab open. ## Features - **`Alt + Space`** opens Gemini on top of whatever you're doing, to draft a document, manage tasks, or create images without switching context - Connects to Gmail and Google Drive to pull context, summarize documents, and help with longer projects - Access to [[Gemini Spark]] for multi-step tasks, [[Nano Banana]] for images, and [[Gemini Omni]] for video. Some of these require a paid plan - Google describes it as lightweight (the installer is around 12 MB) and says it runs without slowing down your PC ## Availability - Windows 10 and 11, on x64 and ARM64 - Download from gemini.google/desktop - Also rolling out to Google Workspace customers - Free, with paid tiers for the more advanced features Keep in mind that the Windows version has fewer features than the macOS one for now. The Mac app launched with window sharing (Gemini can see your screen to help with a PDF or a spreadsheet), and the Windows announcement doesn't mention it. Google says more features are coming. ## What Hacker News thought The reception was lukewarm, to say the least: - **No screenshots** in the announcement, which many found strange - **Just a wrapper?** Some saw it as a thin alternative to the web app that still needs an internet connection - **Privacy**: a recurring complaint is that keeping your chat history requires allowing Google to use your data for training - **Account risk**: some people avoid tying their main Google account (Gmail, Drive) to an AI product that could get the account flagged - **Google's product sprawl**: Gemini, [[Google Antigravity]], Spark, Jules, AI Studio... People are confused about what's for what, and many joked about when it will end up in the Google graveyard - **Bugs**: one user reported the app doesn't start on Windows on ARM machines - **Competition**: OpenAI and Anthropic shipped Windows desktop apps earlier, and Microsoft has had Copilot built into Windows since 2023 My take: a desktop app with a global shortcut is useful. But if you already live in [[ChatGPT]], [[Claude]], or an agent like [[Claude Code]], it's hard to see what would make you switch. The Gmail and Drive integration is the only real differentiator here. ## References - Announcement: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-app/gemini-app-now-on-windows/ - Google Workspace Updates: https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2026/09/the-gemini-desktop-app-is-now-available-for-Windows.html - Hacker News discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49653699 ## Related - [[Gemini]] - [[Gemini Mobile App]] - [[Gemini Spark]] - [[Google Antigravity]] - [[Google]] - [[ChatGPT]] - [[Claude]]