ChatGPT Android beta is now available

The market share of application-side products is a matter of great concern to major companies. Tencent Yuanbao recently launched a large-scale advertisement for this reason. The launch of the ChatGPT Android beta version is also the beginning of the battle for sovereignty over AI assistants.

Recently, OpenAI quietly launched the ChatGPT Android beta version (1.2025.070). Its biggest highlight is that users can set ChatGPT as the default digital assistant of their mobile phone, directly replacing Google Gemini. I personally think it is not only a small step in technological iteration, but also a watershed in the competition of AI ecosystem.

Plugins have evolved into system-level integration

In the past, ChatGPT's role on mobile devices was more of an in-app assistant, and users had to actively open the app to use it. After this update, ChatGPT achieved bottom-level penetration through system permissions for the first time.

Long press the Home button, navigation bar or power button to wake it up directly. Its floating bubble and voice mode deeply interact with the system.

The openness of the Android system allows third-party applications to replace native services, but Google has strict control over the API interface of the default digital assistant.

ChatGPT bypasses the wake-up word restriction and implements system-level calls through physical key binding, which is a clever permission detour.

Users can use ChatGPT to complete the core functions of traditional assistants, such as query and schedule management, and even expand to scenarios such as copywriting and data analysis due to its powerful generation capabilities.

However, shortcomings still exist, such as insufficient functional stability and direct jump to the chat interface instead of a floating bubble when waking up.

The lack of wake-up word activation and reliance on physical buttons weakens the seamless interaction experience.

Passive acceptance upgraded to active choice

Traditional mobile assistants such as Gemini and Siri are pre-installed monopoly services by manufacturers, and users can only passively accept them. However, ChatGPT's default setting function returns the right of choice to users for the first time.

Gemini excels at structured instructions, while ChatGPT has advantages in open domain conversations, idea generation, and complex problem solving.

For example, users can directly ask: "Help me write a market analysis report including AI trends in 2025" without having to follow the steps.

Combined with a ChatGPT Plus subscription, users can unlock higher conversation quotas and in-depth research capabilities to meet professional needs.

However, system-level permissions can also raise data security concerns, especially whether ChatGPT's cloud processing model is compliant.

Free users are subject to quotas and will be interrupted after multiple conversations, which will exacerbate class differentiation in AI services.

Android ecosystem openness and AI competition

Google's allowing third-party AI assistants to replace Gemini is a victory for Android's open ecosystem on the surface, but it actually exposes its strategic anxiety. In the AI ​​era, the right to speak in the operating system is loosening.

The value of the entrance has weakened. Gemini was originally the traffic entrance of the Android ecosystem, and now the penetration of ChatGPT will divert user stickiness.

In terms of technological overtaking pressure, although Google has data advantages in Gemini and search business, ChatGPT's upcoming launch of GPT-4.5 will subvert the existing situation.

Through system-level integration, OpenAI is no longer limited to chatbots, but is moving towards an AI operating system. If it cooperates with hardware manufacturers to pre-install it in the future, I think its ecological influence will grow exponentially.

(1) The default assistant function can encourage more users to subscribe to the Plus service, forming a closed loop from function to payment.

(II) In terms of technology integration, ChatGPT needs to solve the stability problem and strive for Google's wake-up word API permissions. If successful, its experience will be close to or even surpass Gemini.

(III) In the ecological game, will Apple follow Android and open up alternatives to Siri? Currently, iOS is still closed, but the voice of the developer community may force Apple to compromise.

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Other AI players, such as Perplexity and Claude, will follow suit, diversifying the default assistant options and allowing users to switch between different AI specialties as needed.

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The fact that ChatGPT has become the default assistant is not only an upgrade of technical functions, but also marks the transformation of AI from a passive tool to an active partner.

Users no longer rely on AI from a single manufacturer, but can freely choose according to their needs. The transfer of sovereignty will reshape the underlying logic of human-computer interaction.

As AI penetrates the system level, issues such as data sovereignty, ethical boundaries, and technology monopoly will become more acute. Future competition will not only be a competition of functions, but also a battle for the right to define ecological rules.