Android is no longer an operating system, according to Google. It’s an “intelligence system.” And you only need to look at the handful of newly announced Android 17 features — most of them tied to Gemini — to see why.

Google is making Android 17 do more of the work for you — a direction the company has been steadily moving toward. Instead of manually handling every task yourself, many of them will increasingly be managed by Gemini-powered agents.

From smarter tools for planning parties to a speech-to-text feature that could outperform anything we’ve seen on other phones, Google may be right in calling 2026 one of the “biggest years for Android” — a claim the company made while announcing The Android Show: I/O Edition. Of course, Google has made similar promises about new Android releases before, back when Android updates were still mostly just about the operating system itself.

It’s important for Google to get this version of Android right as it transitions to an “intelligence system.” Google is setting the tone for developer conference season, with both Apple and Microsoft set to follow. That gives the company a chance to demonstrate how its latest AI efforts could transform its biggest operating system before its competitors attempt to do the same.

Google is fully embracing the era of agentic AI, doubling down on Android 17 with features designed to handle tasks for you — often without needing to be asked directly.

Alongside Android’s new AI-focused enhancements, Google also announced major updates to Android Auto and introduced its new line of Googlebooks, as the company works to close the gap between phones and laptops by putting Gemini at the center of the experience.

With several genuinely useful features on the way, here’s everything announced at The Android Show: I/O Edition. And with Google I/O still a week away, there are almost certainly more announcements to come.

Watch this: Android’s Biggest AI Update: Everything to Know About Gemini Intelligence

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Gemini Intelligence

Google says that the shift of Android being an operating system versus an intelligence system comes down to some serious Gemini smarts. Gemini Intelligence is a “system that learns and works for you.”

We would have honestly been surprised if Google hadn’t introduced a nice helping of agentic AI to do things on your behalf, and that’s exactly what it’s delivering. Agentic AI, in essence, is the ability to offload tasks and let your AI chatbot do them on your behalf. And it’s significant that Google wants to do this with the most personal device you own, because the results could truly show how AI could improve our lives and save us time.

You can ask Gemini to schedule an appointment with a highly rated dentist, book other appointments and pull up your driver’s license information when you need to fill out a form that requires it.

Here are a few more highlights of what you’ll be able to do with Gemini Intelligence in Android 17 and beyond. 

Material Expressive updates

Google introduced a more animated, flamboyant version of Material Design last year — and in 2026, it’s adding refinements to Gemini. For Android 17, Google’s AI is designed to melt into the background and surface only when you need it. 

When you’re interacting with the AI chatbot, you’ll now see visual cues when it’s thinking, listening or working on your behalf. The visual updates are meant to attract attention to what’s important rather than be distracting. 

While the new Material Expressive updates are more than some design refinements, we think they look great. From what we’ve seen so far, the overall design feels very intentional. It’s not flashy or over the top — there’s no sense of form over function. Instead, it strikes a balance between the two, using subtle visual cues only when needed to communicate specific actions or processes.

Chrome Auto Browse

Chrome Auto Browse is coming to Android in late June. You’ll be able to ask Gemini to do things like plan a party, book appointments and locate hard-to-find or out-of-stock items on your behalf.

Intelligent Auto-fill

Autofill isn’t new to Android 17 — or to most operating systems, for that matter. But Google is now bringing AI into the feature. Gemini can automatically fill in more complex information, like passport numbers or license plates, across Android apps and Google Chrome with a single tap. From the user’s perspective, the experience looks largely the same. What’s changed is the intelligence powering it behind the scenes.

Create My Widget

Widgets have been available for Android 1.5 Cupcake, and they’ve just received an interesting AI upgrade. You can now ask Gemini to generate a custom widget using information it already knows about you.

From the preview we saw, these widgets don’t appear to be tied to any one specific app. Instead, they’re designed to surface the kinds of information you’d typically ask Gemini for, updating automatically right from your home screen. For example, you could ask Gemini to provide three easy, high-protein meal-prep recipes each week, and have those suggestions refresh automatically in a dedicated widget.

We’ll need to get some proper hands-on time before we can make any real judgments on the feature, but it could serve as a helpful widget option in the thousands already available.

Redesigned emoji

Google has redesigned 4,000 of its own emoji, bringing a touch of realism and more visual flair. The new emoji designs will roll out later this year across Gboard, YouTube and Gmail. The examples Google showed off — including a bowl of ramen — featured noticeably more detail, making it easier to distinguish things like noodles from toppings. Basically, they’re higher-definition emoji.

Device switching

Google’s been working on making the switch to Android even easier, and its latest efforts will make you feel right at home when you finally take the plunge away from other phone ecosystems such as iOS. CNET video producer Carly Marsh had a horrible time getting her iPhone data to transfer onto her Android-powered Motorola Razr last year — so this is a welcome update.

Now, your home screen shortcuts will be added during the transfer process. This will not only make the transition easier but also save you time from having to start your home screen over from scratch. 

In addition to home screen updates, the new transfer process will carry your saved passwords over, too.

New Instagram features

You have an assortment of new Instagram features to look forward to when they arrive on Android. Through a partnership with Meta, Android devices will get true Ultra HDR photo and video support, native video stabilization and the ability to use night mode directly within the Instagram app. Google says that flagship Android devices can now match or best the leading competitor, which, of course, is the iPhone. 

Exclusive on-device editing features

That’s not all for Instagram. Android will soon receive exclusive editing features, including Smart Enhance, which can restore details from blurry photos or videos. There’ll also be a new audio feature that separates sound into individual tracks, letting you boost certain elements or remove them entirely.

Reaction videos

Creating your own reaction video is easier than ever, and no longer requires an intensely involved process of downloading a video, filming yourself and editing the two together. You can now record both your phone’s screen and your reaction using your front-facing camera. It’s like having a virtual green screen built into your selfie camera.

Rambler in Gboard

Google’s own Gboard keyboard is easily one of the best options for text-to-speech on Android, but it’s received updates that make it even better. The aptly-named Rambler is here to make speech-to-text smarter than ever. 

Instead of dictating exactly what you say, it’ll now understand the context and adjust accordingly. During a demo we were shown, a Google rep began dictating a list of items for a grocery list in a text message. As they were listing the items, they backtracked and said, “Actually, no, I don’t need bananas.”

Gboard understood what they meant and listed all of the items on the list, leaving bananas out. After that, they asked it to make the list bullet-style and to add a corresponding emoji to each of the items. Gboard got to work and added the adjustments with no fuss or errors. 

Expanded Quick Share

Recently, Google has been expanding its Quick Share functionality, with the latest addition being its compatibility with Apple’s AirDrop. That compatibility will be extended to even more Android phones in the near future. However, compatibility requires certain hardware, so even if your Android phone isn’t compatible, it might still work in some apps, such as WhatsApp.

Pause Point

A new Digital Wellbeing feature, Pause Point, allows you to label specific apps as “distracting.” When opening one of those labeled apps, you’ll be greeted with a blocker. This isn’t just an app timer, though. 

Pause Point presents options for you to do something instead of opening the distracting app, such as a breathing exercise or photos to flip through instead. Additionally, you can set a specific app timer for the existing session you’re using the app for. 

Android 17 is becoming smarter than ever, pushing AI into more practical, proactive roles that go beyond what most people are used to today. And when Google’s reimagined “Intelligence System” arrives later this year, the company may finally live up to the name.