Google Gemini is about to get a lot more useful on your Android phone

By Ajay Kumar Published August 1, 2024

Google isn’t planning on hitting the breaks on Gemini anytime soon. After first teasing a number of new extensions during Google I/O 2024, a recent APK teardown from Android Authority has revealed a ton of unannounced, useful new features from Gemini that are soon coming to your Android phone. Gemini is expected to get a variety of new extensions that will allow integration into Google services like Keep, Tasks, and Calendar.

Each of the extensions seems to provide useful features, and Android Authority has demo videos showcasing each. With Google Keep, you can now ask Gemini to create new notes and lists, add information to notes, and add or remove items from lists. Google Tasks now lets you use Gemini to create new tasks, including reminders. It’ll also allow you to view existing tasks and show their due dates.

The last major extension is for Google Calendar. You’re now able to create new calendar events, view all upcoming calendar events or ones on a specific date, and edit existing calendar events.

These extensions will join already existing ones for Google Flights, Google Hotels, Maps, Workspace, YouTube, and YouTube Music. Earlier reporting also revealed that Google Home is getting an extension that will allow users to control smart home appliances like lights and switches.

Currently, you can set Gemini as your phone’s default voice assistant, but any smart-home-related asks get pushed to Google Assistant first, which slows down responsiveness. The Google Home extension should help cut out the middleman and allow Gemini to execute the command directly.

Another extension is one for the phone app, which essentially does the same thing of cutting out the middleman. Right now, any phone call commands get handled by Google Assistant first; with the extension, Gemini will take this process over.

Lastly, there’s an extension for Utilities. This is an interesting one since it’ll allow Gemini to interact directly with your phone settings and installed apps. It’ll be able to take photos, open apps, and adjust volume on your device. Android Authority speculates that it could also allow you to lock your phone, switch to dark mode, and restart your device, all hands-free.