Most voice assistants work like a relay race: speech becomes text, text goes to a model, the answer becomes speech again. Every handoff adds a pause. ⏱️ Speech-to-speech models skip the relay. Google's new Gemini 3.8 Live models listen, reason, and respond in one system. 🎯 The Extended Thinking version ranks first on Artificial Analysis' Speech to Speech Index 🗣️ The standard version ranks second in blind live conversations judged by people 💰 The standard version costs $0.84 per hour of…