For years, Android fans have had a date circled on their calendars — usually sometime in May — where they hope to learn about all the most important changes coming to the world’s largest mobile operating system. Google I/O has traditionally been headlined by Android, but the company this year gave it second billing to Gemini AI, relegating Android 15 news to a day-two keynote that wasn’t even live-streamed. Still, lots of goodies slated to come to our phones soon were shown off, and Google’s not the only game in town. If you were caught off guard by the Gemini blitz, we’ll get you up to speed on this week’s five biggest Android headlines below.
Catch up on last week’s biggest Android headlines here
The Pixel 8a beats Google I/O to the punch, but so do Apple and OpenAI in this week’s news
So Google I/O is an AI show now
Android Police alumnus Dr. Rita El Khoury did the math in her column for Android Authority, and the numbers make it clear: With 122 mentions of the word “AI” compared to just 21 mentions of the word “Android” in its keynote, Google now has Gemini AI ahead of Android in its internal pecking order.
To be fair, many of the new Gemini features announced at I/O will impact Android users. For instance, the Gemini app, when set as your default assistant, will soon be able to answer questions about YouTube videos and PDFs shown on your phone’s screen. And soon, Gemini will be able to use your phone’s camera to answer questions about the world around you thanks to a new “Ask with video” feature. And while it’s not directly related to Android, the most intriguing AI development out of I/O may have been Google’s Project Astra demo, which should work similarly to Ask with video, and could even run on a set of smart glasses one day.
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It’s all about AI this year — here’s everything Google’s talked about so far
Android 15 gets relegated to second-class status, picks up some finishing touches
If you can’t tell by now, we’re a bit bitter about the AI-to-Android ratio at this year’s I/O — anything less than a majority of the limelight was never going to be enough in our book. But Android 15 got a decent dose of attention this week, with Google making several features official that had previously been spotted in development. And ultimately, we can’t say we’re too mad about Android 15 Beta 2 dropping on Wednesday, even if it was a day late.
With the new build going public, we got our best look yet at some of the headlining features of the next major update. Adaptive Vibration is live, for one, which uses sensors to “determine sound level and context” about your phone’s current environment, then adjusts the strength of haptics accordingly. We also got to check out the redesigned volume panel and its Material You sliders, and Google went ahead and made its private space feature official, which functions a lot like Samsung’s Secure Folder feature.
Android 15 Beta 2 is here with new features and support for more devices
Start using this update on your Nothing 2a or OnePlus phone
Maybe the intersection of Android and AI isn’t such a bad neighborhood after all
Many of the AI features showcased at I/O had direct implications for Android itself. Google announced a suite of AI-based anti-theft features coming soon to Android, and some are seriously impressive — particularly the one that uses AI to detect when your phone is snatched out of your hand, then locks everything down automatically. The Play Store got a hearty serving of Gemini, too — now, the AI can be used by developers to make their app listings more attractive.
And Google TV, which itself is based on Android TV, is getting new AI features to recommend what you should watch. But perhaps the most exciting development for Android users when it comes to AI was the announcement of Gemini in Google Photos, which would give you a personal assistant for curating your library. It’s clear that AI will permeate nearly every aspect of Android, so maybe Google’s current focus on the technology won’t be such a bad thing after all.
Gemini comes to Google Photos to supercharge search and curation
Gemini will make search in Google Photos a lot smarter
No Pixel 9 tease? That’s okay, the leakers have us covered
It’s become a bit of a tradition for Google to tease its next flagship Pixel model at I/O, so we were hugely disappointed when the keynote came and went without a mention of the Pixel 9. It would have been the perfect way to appease Android fans who were salty about the AI focus of the event, and it could have grounded Google’s futuristic announcements in a real-world product.
But we’re not too upset about it, because a massive leak showed us real-world photos of the entire Pixel 9 series — that is, if you’re not counting the Pixel Fold 2 (Pixel 9 Pro Fold?) as part of the lineup. There are three non-folding flagships this year: The Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL. While the XL has a new name, it’s more of an iteration on the Pixel 8 Pro, while the 9 Pro is a new, smaller version of Google’s top-tier model. They all look quite nice in the photos, too, so we have plenty to tide us over until the first official tease.
Massive leak shows us Google’s entire Pixel 9 lineup in live photos
The leak hints at four new Pixel 9 series devices
Samsung’s clearly gearing up for its next Unpacked
Samsung’s summer Unpacked event is expected to happen a bit earlier this year — in fact, rumors have it pegged for Wednesday, July 10. This is the event where we expect to see a new generation of foldables, as well as an updated Galaxy Watch line and potentially the Galaxy Ring.
Judging by the cadence of leaks in recent weeks, it’s clear that the event is getting closer. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 made headlines when an old rumor about a cheaper variant was refuted. As for the Galaxy Z Flip 6, we learned that Samsung might be giving its clamshell phone a folding screen upgrade with thicker flexible glass that should lead to a less pronounced crease, and that the company might not use Exynos chips in any of the international variants of this model. And while there may not be a cheaper Fold, we could finally see a Galaxy Watch FE this year, judging by recent listings spotted on the FCC.
New FCC listings hint at the Galaxy Watch 7 series and a budget-friendly surprise
But no mentions of a Pro model
