Android 17’s Gemini Intelligence is finally making mobile AI useful
Android 17’s Gemini Intelligence is finally making mobile AI useful
Publish Date: 2026-05-17 11:01:00
Source Domain: www.trustedreviews.com
Modern smartphone launches are frequently less about hardware and more about what the new phones can do with AI – the problem is that most of them are, well, gimmicky.
When was the last time you used Apple’s Image Playground? Or added a doodle to your photo using Samsung’s Galaxy AI? Have you ever actually used the Pixel’s Camera Coach feature when snapping a photo? What about Honor’s Magic Portal? Nope, I didn’t think so.
Don’t misunderstand me; these are all fantastic showcases of what AI can do. The problem is that they’re not really solving any problems. They’re something you can show off to your mates once or twice, but will you actually use them in day-to-day life? For the vast majority of the ‘killer’ AI features, I’d argue not.
But, the new Gemini Intelligence features headed to phones in Android 17? Well, that could be a different matter entirely.
Fine, they’re not all bad
Okay, yes, I am being a bit harsh there because there are a few AI-based features that I tend to gravitate towards on my phone.
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The main one is, of course, Gemini itself; the virtual assistant is pretty handy for quick random thought queries, but more so for me, it’s great at extracting information like briefings and launch dates from emails and adding them to my Google Calendar – a task that used to take quite a while during busy periods.
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And I’ll throw Circle to Search into the mix there because, well, it works perfectly most of the time. Circle something on screen, and you’ll be able to find that thing on Google. It’s great for finding niche products, whether that’s an obscure bit of tech or an outfit you like, without all the usual legwork of Google searches.
But those features are cloud-based and can be used on pretty much any phone at any price point. What I’m talking about are the AI features that are…
