Although Google hasn’t yet integrated its AI-powered Gemini chatbot inside its Pixel smartphones, it is evident that the tech behemoth is working towards that objective. Three new app extensions are revealed in a recent APK deconstruction by Android Authority, which may turn Gemini into a necessary tool for Google-powered smartphones.
Already, Gemini has extensions that let it use other Android apps; they include integrations with YouTube and YouTube Music, notifications for Calendar and Tasks, and, most recently, Spotify.
If the breakdown by Android Authority indicates anything, it’s that more features—more precisely, new extensions for Google Messages, WhatsApp, and Android system notifications—are on the way.
Although the extensions don’t seem to be functioning in the beta version yet, the app does provide official descriptions so that we can see what could be available. Going from least to most significant, the Messages extensions seem to be rather straightforward; they ostensibly let you send and receive SMS via Gemini in the Messages app.
It seems that WhatsApp is getting a more substantial Gemini extension, as it appears that voice commands connected to Gemini may be used to send and receive messages as well as make audio calls over WhatsApp.
Google has made a lot of noise about how Gemini and its other AI tools could usher in a future where classification and summarization are abundant. Gemini may soon be able to compile notifications and rank them according to significance, according to the Notifications extension discovered by Android Authority. In addition, tools could be made available to carry out actions in response to the notification. For instance, a smart home speaker could start to play a celebratory song in response to a score update. That’s just conjecture on my part, but given the direction Google appears to want things to go, it seems possible in the future.
A “one app to rule them all” scenario and a lack of app diversity may result from integrated Gemini extensions in the future, one would speculate. It would be fascinating to see how Google positions Gemini if it decides to make its AI chatbot the default choice when using your phone as it continues down the AI assistant path.