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

Gemini’s most interesting feature is now free for all Android users

Add as a preferred source on Google
Gemini Live App on the Galaxy S25 Ultra broadcast to a TV showing the Gemini app with the camera feature open
Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

Of all the features that Google’s much-anticipated Gemini AI offers, one of the most exciting has been screen sharing and camera access for brainstorming and object identification. Previously that had been for Pixel devices only, but today Google announced that the feature is coming to all Android users for free via the Gemini app.

Our team tested out the camera abilities of Gemini and found them “shocking” — you can point your camera at an object or scene, enable Gemini to access your camera, then get information about what you’re looking at from your assistant. Point your camera at a painting, and Gemini will tell you about it via text or voice. Show it a page from a book and it’ll recognize the text and tell give you an overview of the book’s key points. Snap a photo of a sketch you’ve created, and it’ll help with guidance and advice.

Recommended Videos

You can also share with Gemini whatever is currently on your screen, such as an app or website, and ask it for help like summarizing a passage, brainstorming an idea, or providing more research on a topic. When you are in the Gemini app, there’s a “Share screen with Live” button which enables the screen sharing, and then you can interact with Gemini about whatever is on your screen or in front of your camera.

This is one of Gemini’s killer features, and Pixel users have been experimenting with it and reporting impressive results. It was initially rumored that Google might share the feature beyond those on Pixel devices, but that was confirmed officially today.

“We’ve been hearing great feedback on Gemini Live with camera and screen share, so we decided to bring it to more people,” Google wrote on X. “Starting today and over the coming weeks, we’re rolling it out to all @Android users with the Gemini app. Enjoy!”

Previously, if you wanted to use Gemini you needed a Gemini Advanced subscription, which comes as part of the $20/month Google One AI Premium plan. Now, though, Google has confirmed to 9to5Google that a subscription is no long required, so it will be available for free to all Android users.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
Google is making it easier to adapt Android apps for laptops and foldable phones
Google is helping developers make Android apps work beyond smartphones
Electronics, Phone, Mobile Phone

Google updated its adaptive Compose skill to help developers adapt existing Android apps for laptops, foldable phones, tablets, and other form factors, including the upcoming Googlebook platform. The goal of this update is to help AI coding agents customize apps for different screen sizes and input methods without developers having to maintain separate codebases for different devices.

The new skill goes beyond responsive layouts, adding support for desktop-focused features and foldable-specific interface adjustments. Google is also signaling that adaptive app experiences will be more prominent on Google Play, with the company planning to pay more attention to how apps and games perform on foldable devices next year.

Read more
Meta’s next cute attempt at forcing AI into your life is an AI pet journal app
Meta wants you to tell your secrets to a cute AI pet in Waddle World app.
meta-waddle-world-ai-pet-journal

Meta wants to make its AI feel like a cute tiny friend through a newly launched pet journal app called Waddle World. Think of it as Tamagotchi, but the pixelated pet can actually chat with you and doodle little illustrations based on what you tell it about your day. Right now, this free app is available on iOS and Android only in the Philippines, with access limited to adults.

Waddle World is a pet that wants to know about your day

Read more
A tiny smartphone gadget can detect some of the nastiest chemicals in your water
Scientists built a tiny smartphone gadget that can spot toxic 'forever chemicals'
Smartphone-connected drinking water safety sensor Featured

What if checking your drinking water for dangerous chemicals were as simple as plugging a tiny gadget into your smartphone? Researchers in Japan have developed a compact sensor that could make that possible, potentially bringing sophisticated water contamination testing out of expensive laboratories and into people's hands.

Scientists at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) have created a portable device capable of detecting extremely low concentrations of PFAS, commonly known as "forever chemicals." The findings were published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics, which demonstrate how an inexpensive sensor and a smartphone could make identifying potentially harmful chemicals in water a lot easier.

Read more