Google unveils Googlebook and new AI features for Android

At its virtual Android Show event on Tuesday, Google announced Googlebook, a new line of laptops built with Gemini, the company’s AI assistant. Google is partnering with manufacturers including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to launch the laptops this fall. The devices are designed to run Gemini Intelligence to provide personal and proactive assistance. Alongside the hardware, Google is introducing agentic features to Gemini, allowing the assistant to perform multistep tasks across different applications, such as finding event details on Expedia from a photo of a flyer. Additionally, Gemini is being introduced to the Chrome browser on Android to summarize web content and navigate websites.

The company also unveiled several consumer-focused updates for the Android ecosystem, which will begin rolling out this summer:

• Create My Widget: A feature launching this summer on Samsung and Google Pixel devices that allows users to “vibe-code” custom widgets by describing what they want using natural language.
• Android Auto Updates: The system is receiving widgets, Gemini integration, and 60 fps video support for apps like YouTube in supported vehicles from manufacturers including BMW, Ford, Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Mahindra, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Škoda, Tata, and Volvo.
• Media and Creator Tools: Android is launching “Screen Reactions” to record users and their screens simultaneously. Google also partnered with Meta to integrate Instagram features like Ultra HDR and native stabilization.
• Emoji Refinement: Google refined 4,000 Android emojis to make them more expressive and less flat.

For productivity, Google launched Rambler, a Gboard dictation feature that removes filler words and cleans up spoken transcripts. File-sharing tool Quick Share is expanding its support to more smartphone manufacturers, including Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor, and will soon be available within WhatsApp. Google also plans to introduce an iOS-to-Android transfer tool for Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices later this year to migrate passwords, photos, and home screen layouts. To help manage screen time, a new “Pause Point” feature will force a 10-second break when users launch distracting apps.

Finally, Google is expanding its theft protection features globally to all Android users, following initial testing in Brazil. The security updates, which restrict how many times a thief can attempt to unlock a device, will also extend to older devices in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and the U.K. For Pixel users, a new Intrusion Logging feature will help investigate suspected spyware attacks and device compromises.

Why it matters

Google is embedding its Gemini AI assistant across both its hardware and software ecosystems, signaling a shift toward agentic computing that can perform complex tasks across different applications ahead of its annual developer conference.