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Android Authority contrasts Google's approach of weaving Gemini AI into core Android functions like messaging and photography with Apple's more restrained AI rollout on the iPhone 18 Pro. The piece notes Apple has focused on building on-device processing to keep AI features local and private rather than pushing users toward cloud-connected tools.
Google has introduced a new feature in Gemini called immersive explorations, offering 20 preset topics spanning categories like Civilizations, Energy, Engineering, Medicine, Geology, Oceans, and Spaceflight. The feature sits within Gemini's student hub alongside existing tools like flashcards and quizzes, and is available on mobile and web for all users.
The GSMA, which oversees the RCS messaging standard, warns that RCS has a six-to-twelve month window to establish itself as a conversational, AI-capable platform rather than a one-way notification tool. GSMA Intelligence data shows people receive about 3.2 billion RCS messages daily, but businesses sent only around 20 billion RCS messages in all of 2025, versus roughly 15 SMS messages per subscriber monthly. The GSMA says it is developing new conversational features but has not announced specifics or timelines.
Google is rolling out sponsored listings in AI Mode search results to India, Australia, Canada, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore, with Brazil, Mexico and the UK slated to follow later in Q4 2026. The company says ads will carry a 'Sponsored' label to separate them from AI-generated answers, and in the US it is also testing ads that appear during follow-up questions within the same AI Mode conversation.
Google has launched a stable version of an enhanced autofill feature in Chrome that uses Gemini and Personal Intelligence to pull relevant details from a user's Gmail account, such as order numbers, tracking information, and flight bookings. The feature is now available to eligible Gemini Personal Intelligence users in the US across desktop, Android, and iOS, after previously being tested only in Chrome Canary.
Google Photos' latest update lets users customize the Collections tab by pinning favorite destinations—such as Favorites, Screenshots, and Trash—to the top of the screen. A new Reorder button also allows users to rearrange or hide other collection strips, which get grouped into an 'Other Collections' section.
Android Authority's poll of 1,144 readers found the floating Gemini button in Google Messages to be the most unpopular feature, drawing 48.6% of votes among five options. Respondents cited its prominent placement near the 'Start a new chat' button, which makes it easy to tap by accident, and its redundancy given Google's standalone Gemini app.
Android Authority released its latest Wallpaper Wednesday collection, featuring six reader-submitted images and three from its own team, available in landscape and portrait formats for phones, tablets and PCs. The free, watermark-free wallpapers can be downloaded in full resolution via a shared Google Drive link, with past weeks' images also archived there.
Reddit users report that Pixel Watch 2, 3, 4 and 5 devices are suffering sudden, severe battery drain, with runtimes dropping from 24-48 hours to under 12 hours. Some users report losing up to 20% charge every four hours even with Always-on Display disabled and background activity minimized. Google has not yet publicly acknowledged the problem.
Android Authority writer Megan Ellis describes a workaround using Do Not Disturb settings, Find Hub, and Google Contacts to replicate the Pixel-exclusive VIPs widget on other Android devices. The method lets users build a Do Not Disturb exception list for important contacts and use existing tools for location sharing, though it doesn't fully replicate the single hub-like widget Pixel offers.
Google has rolled out a voice recorder feature inside Gemini Notebook, confirmed in version 1.63.1002728510 for Android and also available on iOS, seemingly to all regions rather than just the US. Tapping the microphone icon in the Sources tab or on the homepage starts recording, with the audio uploaded to Google's servers for automatic transcription and a 'source guide' summary.
Code found in Google Wallet version 26.42.1003171897 points to a new 'Overseas QR payments' feature called Traveler QR. A linked Google support page describes automatic activation when a phone detects it's in a supported region, currently naming only Alipay Plus partner networks in Singapore.