Skip to main content

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

Google Gemini app on the Motorola Razr Plus 2024.
Joe Maring / Digital Trends

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.

Recommended Videos

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.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

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.

Ajay Kumar
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ajay has worked in tech journalism for more than a decade as a reporter, analyst, and editor.
I tried a new Android phone that puts some of the best smartphone cameras to shame
The rear camera setup on the Oppo Find X8 Pro.

It’s been a few years since I was surprised by a smartphone camera’s zoom performance. With Samsung offering 100x zoom on its Galaxy S Ultra lineup, little has shocked me with smartphone cameras — until now.

The Oppo Find X8 series is the successor to the Find X7 series from last year, and alongside several other improvements, there’s also been a significant upgrade in one area: the 30x zoom. Oppo and OnePlus have great cameras at shorter zoom distances, and at a recent briefing, I discovered that we can now add the 30x zoom to the list.

Read more
I used a Wear OS smartwatch for the first time, and I love it
Someone wearing an Apple Watch Ultra and Pixel Watch 3 on different wrists.

Ever since the original Apple Watch, smartwatches as a whole have really taken off. Though Apple largely dominates the market, there are still plenty of non-Apple smartwatches to choose from.

I’ve been solely an Apple Watch user for the past decade, but I’ve been trying out a Google Pixel Watch 3 for the past couple of weeks. And, honestly, I kind of love it.
A round smartwatch is so much sleeker

Read more
5 phones you should buy instead of the iPhone 16 Pro
Someone holding the iPhone 16 Pro.

If you’re in the market for a new phone, whether it’s for yourself or a loved one, you may be considering the iPhone 16 Pro from Apple. After all, it just came out, and it’s packed with the latest and greatest from the fruit company. That means an A18 Pro chip for fast performance, an upgraded 5x telephoto camera, the new Camera Control button, Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18, and more.

But what if we told you there are some better options out there? And some offer even better features or are a better value? Here are five alternatives to consider before you buy the iPhone 16 Pro.
iPhone 16

Read more