Google I/O has come and gone—at least the main keynotes did. Unlike previous years, there weren't too many groundbreaking features announced this year; instead, the event focused on Google's overall plans for Gemini and the future of artificial intelligence.
These plans also include Android. Google announced that it will share all the details about Android 15 on Wednesday, but during its inaugural I/O event today, the company did note that there will be some general AI changes coming to Android devices.
circle search job
“Circle Search” is not a brand new feature; Launched by Google earlier this year, users can start searching for elements on the screen by circling them.
However, in today's announcement, Google did show off a new feature for Circle to Search: homework help. The tool can now identify long questions and guide students through them. Say you have a complex math problem in front of you: circle it and Gemini will break down the process for you. Answers are included, of course, but so is reasoning so it can be a tool for learning how to solve future problems, not just a way to cheat on homework.
Gemini now has "situational awareness"
Google is excited to announce that Gemini is now "context-aware" on Android. What they mean is that when you call the assistant, Gemini recognizes what you're currently doing on your phone or tablet and takes that into account when returning query results.
In one example on stage, a demonstrator was talking to a friend who asked if they wanted to play pickleball. The protester jokingly asked Pickleball if he was playing tennis with Pickle, then pulled up Gemini in the chat to create a meme of Pickle playing tennis. The friend then sends a video of how to play pickleball: the presenter asks Gemini a question about the game, and because the AI knows the presenter is watching the video, it searches the video for the answer instead Search the entire web for answers.
Artificial intelligence prevents fraud
This was my favorite feature of the entire event. Google shows how Gemini can analyze your ongoing phone calls and warn you of potential scams. It wasn't subtle, either: The demo included calls from someone pretending to be a bank, claiming there were suspicious charges on protesters' accounts. When protesters asked what the charges were, the callers said they couldn't tell over the phone, and phones immediately started buzzing with alerts warning of potential scams.
I would be happy if a company like Google took this idea and ran with it. Scams are already prevalent in digital life, and they will only get worse with the rise of generative AI. It would be even better if businesses could also leverage AI technology to fight back against AI fraud.
Android 15 news will be released tomorrow
Again, this is just a short list of Android Gemini features, not all of the changes in Android 15. According to Google, more Android feature news will be released tomorrow, so stay tuned.
