
The Made by Google event showcased the company’s latest Pixel smartphones.
However,hardware took a backseat during the announcement. The event primarily focused on Gemini, Google's groundbreaking AI, which they are making accessible to the public.
So, what were the new Gemini improvements? The first is Gemini Live. This is available, at least for now, for subscribers of Gemini Advanced. Live allows a more freeform conversation with Gemini. Google boasts that Gemini Live is capable of following along conversations like a person would, which sounds interesting when you have Gemini integrated as your assistant and while you’re doing other tasks such as driving.
The next upgrade is one that has been teased about for some time. This is Gemini Overlay, which makes Gemini context-aware of the current app you’re using. If you’re watching a YouTube video, you can bring out Gemini and ask for information about that video. It’s like another form of Circle to Search. You can also use the Overlay to generate images and drag them to apps like Gmail.
Google has also announced new integrations in the coming weeks for different Google apps. Google gives this example: You ask Gemini to find the recipe your friend sent you via email, and based from that information you can have Gemini add the list of ingredients from that recipe to your list in Google Keep. Along the way, you can tell Gemini to create a playlist with YouTube Music. You just tell Gemini a theme, like ‘80s or ‘90s, and it will handle the rest.
Google also mentions that Gemini has been redesigned for different smartphones. They particularly highlighted foldable devices, specifically citing the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, which can open Gemini in multi-window or split-screen. We can assume the Pixel 9 Fold Pro will also be capable in having multiple screens for Gemini.
While introducing these features, Google stressed privacy and security. They say Gemini is designed to safeguard personal information. Of course, by this, they mean they’ll be the only ones who know your data, and they basically promise, they won’t share it with others.
They added that Gemini Nano enables data processing within the phone. So that’s neat. Gemini is available in the country. It’s available in 45 languages across 200 countries and territories.