Android set for huge free update - but your phone might not get it
Google has revealed a raft of new tools coming to Android, but not all devices are invited.
It’s May, which for Google means it’s nearly Google I/O, the firm’s annual extravaganza where it unveils what’s new in the world of Android and beyond. The event kicks off on May 19, but Google has decided to lift the lid on a few things a week early to give us a glimpse of what’s to come.
There are no prizes for guessing that this involves AI.
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The headline new feature coming to Android soon is called Gemini Intelligence, and it’s an evolution of the Gemini artificial intelligence assistant Google has crowbarred into Android phones all over the world, first by replacing Google Assistant with the smarter tech, and also in the standalone Gemini app.
Google says Gemini Intelligence can listen to your requests via voice or text and then action them using the apps installed on your phone. It “helps you automate tedious tasks so you can focus on what matters”, including booking food orders from delivery apps or taxi rides from apps such as Uber, all via Gemini’s interface.
“Gemini will navigate tasks for you — whether it’s snagging a front-row bike for your spin class or finding your class syllabus in Gmail then putting the books you need in your cart. Gemini handles the logistics while you stay in the moment,” Google said.
Early versions of this functionality are already available on the Google Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 range, and though Google says Gemini Intelligence will come to more devices, it also said it will only be for Android’s “most advanced devices”.
Though Google didn’t specify, it’s safe to assume you’ll only be able to get this new tool if you have an expensive, top of the range smartphone or other device with powerful processor and plenty of RAM.
“Gemini Intelligence features will roll out in waves starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, and will become available across your Android devices including your watch, car, glasses and laptops later this year,” Google confirmed.
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A similar tool called Chrome auto browse will be able to take the context of your phone’s screen to action, such as asking your phone to book appropriate parking for an event you’re looking at.
Elsewhere, there’s a very clever new feature called Rambler coming to Android soon via its native keyboard, Gboard. This new voice input method can take your ramblings - hence the name - and turn them into clean, ready to send text in messaging apps. So, it’ll remove your ums and ahs, and can even make corrections when you ask it to.
An example is using your voice to ask your significant other to pick up items from the shops, but you say “actually, don’t worry about the bananas”, and the bananas won’t appear on the list, even though you already listed them earlier in your voice clip. In a live demo, Google showed Express.co.uk how Android will remove this item and not include the text of you asking it to.
It was one of the more impressive tech demos I have seen recently, and could be a sleeper hit, if people realise it’s on their phone.
Perhaps more people will be excited to see true Instagram integration and collaboration, with Ultra HD an native stabilisation coming to some Android handsets via Instagram’s in app camera on its Instagram Edits app for creators. This should result in better quality photo, video and audio via Instagram’s native viewfinder on Android phones, plus tools such as smart enhancer and sound separation all working on-device.
You will also see subtle redesigns to emojis on Android, and Google says “all 4,000” emojis have had a visual overhaul. That update is coming to Gboard, YouTube and Gmail first, starting with Pixel phones.
If all of this sounds like too much phone, Android is also gaining a mindfulness tool called Pause Point. You can flag certain apps as distracting, and the system can be set to bring up a breathing exercise when you tap on the app to discourage you from using it. It can even let you swipe through favourite photos instead, to convince you not to go on the app.
Terrifying that we are at this point in smartphones, but better to have it than not, I guess.
In a nice quality of life update, AirDrop compatibility with iPhones is coming to more Android phones, even if they don't support it natively. You’ll be able to tap into Apple’s wireless sharing standard using your Android phone’s Quick Share via a simple QR code.
Other impressive Android perks coming soon include filling out pesky online forms with a single tap, and the ability to build custom widgets with the new Create My Widget tool - of course, both handy features are powered by Gemini.
