Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Phones
  3. News

Android 17 could turn Gemini into your personal app butler

New AppFunctions and UI automation previews give a first look at AI that completes tasks for you in the background.

By
Add as a preferred source on Google
Google Gemini on Phone
Google

Google just gave us a real glimpse of how Android 17 might change the way you use your phone. New developer tools announced Tuesday let AI agents like Gemini dive directly into your installed apps to find photos, manage calendars, or book a multi-stop rideshare while you do something else.

The idea is simple. Instead of opening apps one by one, you tell an AI what you need. Google calls this the “agentic future,” and it’s landing in pieces starting now on the Galaxy S26 series and select Pixel 10 devices. A long press of the power button on those phones lets you hand off complex tasks to Gemini. The AI works across food delivery, grocery, and rideshare apps in the US and Korea to start.

Two ways Gemini takes control

Google is building this on two tracks. The first is AppFunctions, a framework that lets developers expose specific app features directly to AI. The Samsung Gallery integration on the Galaxy S26 shows how it works. You ask Gemini to “show me pictures of my cat from Samsung Gallery.” The AI finds and displays them. You never open the gallery app. It already works for calendar, notes, and tasks on devices from multiple manufacturers.

Recommended Videos

The second track is broader. For apps without dedicated integrations, Google is testing a UI automation framework. It lets Gemini execute generic tasks. The beta launches on the same devices, supporting a curated set of apps in food delivery, grocery, and rideshare categories. The AI handles the multi-step work using your existing app context.

You stay in the driver’s seat

Letting an AI loose inside your apps sounds like a privacy risk. Google says it designed these features with privacy and security as the foundation. When Gemini runs a task through UI automation, you can watch its progress via notifications or a live view. If something looks wrong, you jump in and take over manually.

Sensitive actions get extra guardrails. Gemini alerts you before completing things like a purchase. The actual work happens on your device, not a remote server. Google frames this as user control baked into the experience. The goal is to make automation feel helpful, not creepy.

Android 17 and what comes next

This is still early. Google is starting with a small set of developers to iron out the experience. The UI automation preview is limited to specific devices and app categories in just two countries. But the roadmap points to Android 17 as the moment these capabilities broaden to more users, developers, and device makers.

For now, if you have a Galaxy S26 or a select Pixel 10, you can try the beta when it launches. For everyone else, the takeaway is simple. Your phone is about to get smarter about handling tedious stuff. The shift from opening apps to telling AI what you need is coming. Android 17 later this year will likely be when it starts to feel normal.

Paulo Vargas
Paulo Vargas
News Writer
Paulo Vargas is an English major turned reporter turned technical writer, with a career that has always circled back to…
Topics
Apple has a stacked product lineup slated for later this year
Electronics, Phone, Mobile Phone

Apple has spent much of the past year playing catch-up in the AI conversation, but if a new report is accurate, the company is preparing to remind everyone that it still knows how to ship hardware. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has an unusually ambitious product roadmap stretching across late 2026 and 2027. While annual iPhone refreshes are nothing new, the list of devices in development reads like a company trying to reinvent multiple product categories at once. And honestly? It’s about time.

For years, Apple’s launches have largely followed a predictable formula: faster chips, slightly better cameras, and incremental refinements to products that already dominate their respective categories. That’s not necessarily a criticism — those products continue to sell incredibly well — but it hasn’t exactly been an exciting era for people hoping to see Apple take bigger swings.

Read more
iOS 27’s Liquid Glass slider looks simple, but it’s more useful than I expected
Text, Document, Business Card

Let's be honest: few iOS design changes have sparked as much debate as Liquid Glass. When Apple first introduced it with iOS 26, the internet immediately split into two camps. Some people loved the fresh, translucent look, while others couldn't stand it and felt it made parts of the interface harder to read. I happened to be firmly in the first camp. At the time, I was using an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and installing the update was one of the first things I did. I loved how the new design made iOS feel more modern and dynamic. The transparency effects gave the interface a sense of depth, making the entire experience feel fresh again.

That said, it's easy to understand why not everyone felt the same way. After months of feedback, screenshots, hot takes, and endless debates online, Apple eventually responded by giving users more control. Instead of forcing everyone into the same look, it introduced options that let people choose between a clearer glass effect and a more tinted appearance. With iOS 27, Apple is putting the Liquid Glass debate completely in your hands. A new slider lets you customize the effect exactly the way you want it, whether you prefer a crystal-clear look or something easier on the eyes. Here's what it does and how to make the most of it on your iPhone.

Read more
Apple users are being targeted by a familiar tech support scam
Apple users face a new wave of fake iPhone and iCloud security warnings
iPhone user

AI has made online scams harder to spot by making deepfakes, voice cloning, and fake messages more realistic. Even so, the old tech support scam is still catching victims. For years, fraudsters often posed as Microsoft support workers. Now, reports suggest many are shifting their attention to Apple users.

Consumers are reporting a rise in fake “Apple High Alert” messages that claim an iPhone, iCloud account, or Apple ID has been compromised. These messages are designed to make people panic and react quickly before they can stop to check whether the warning is real.

Read more