Stay Updates From Google I/O 2026 🔴

In case it wasn’t clear: Google is shoving AI into the whole lot. On The Android Show, Google’s president of the Android ecosystem, Sameer Samat, stated that Android is reworking from an working system to an “intelligence system,” powered by Gemini. “This means deeply understanding your context, anticipating your needs, and getting things done on your behalf.”

To convey that intelligence, Android 17 is getting a minor facelift to “animate with purpose” when Gemini Intelligence is listening, pondering, and creating. The OS—sorry, intelligence system—may also have extra agentic performance, aka the power to do duties for you, like allegedly buy live performance tickets. It all seems to be and sounds handy in demos, however whether or not customers will embrace it or not is the massive query.

The new Android Auto expertise may also adapt to extra display shapes and sizes—like spherical and hexagonal shows. Navigation will get a revamp with 3D Google Maps that present buildings, overpasses, and terrain round your automotive. Lanes and cease indicators are highlighted as nicely. Android Auto additionally has different new stuff like widgets (climate, contacts, and good dwelling controls) and the power to observe YouTube movies in supported vehicles.

Oh, and Google redesigned Android’s emoji in order that they’ve extra element.

It’s no Liquid Glass overhaul, however I’m genuinely excited to take a look at the brand new model of Android for Google’s varied platforms. —Raymond Wong