Google hasn’t made its AI-powered chatbot Gemini a major part of its Pixel phones yet, but it’s clear the tech giant is working toward that goal. A recent APK teardown by Android Authority reveals three new app extensions that could make Gemini a must-have tool on Google-powered phones.
Gemini already has extensions that allow access to other Android apps, such as YouTube and YouTube Music integration, calendar and task notifications, and recently Spotify integration.
If Android Authority’s analysis suggests anything, it’s that more features are on the way – particularly new extensions for WhatsApp, Google Messages, and Android system notifications.
Apparently the extensions don’t work in beta yet, but the app provides official descriptions so we can see what might be offered. Working our way from least impactful to most impactful, the Messages extensions seem pretty simple and apparently allow you to send or read texts in the Messages app via Gemini.
WhatsApp seems to be getting a more significant Gemini enhancement, as it looks like you might be able to send/read messages and make WhatsApp voice calls using a voice command tied to Gemini.
Google has touted the possibility that Gemini or its other AI tools could lead us to a future full of summaries and categorizations. The Notifications extension found by Android Authority suggests that Gemini may soon be able to summarize notifications and list them by importance. It’s possible that tools will also become available to perform tasks based on the notification. For example, a score update could cause a smart home speaker to make a cheering sound. That’s purely hypothetical on my part, but given the way Google wants things to run, it seems like a future possibility.
One wonders if a future with built-in Gemini extensions will mean a loss of app variety and a move toward a “one app to rule them all” situation. As Google continues down the AI assistant path, it will be interesting to see how Gemini is positioned as Google tries to make its AI chatbot the default option when using your phone.
As a reminder, APK teardowns take a look at early or beta versions of code or apps like Google’s main app. They can give us an idea of what Google is working on, but the features found this way may change significantly or never roll out at all. For now, that’s just guesswork and speculation, but in most cases, the features found in these teardowns actually go live.
