After upgrading its Gemini assistant to work with Samsung’s apps yesterday, along with adding the ability to interact with multiple apps in a single prompt, Google says it’s not done yet.
In its announcement of Android 16’s first public beta, the company promised an expansion: “More apps with more OEMs on more devices across more form factors.” Android 16 is scheduled for general release in Q2 2025.
Head of customer experience Jay Kim mentioned “multifold” devices during his section of the keynote, though we didn’t get any more detail than that. So far only Huawei has released commercial hardware that can fold more than once, but Samsung has demonstrated the tech in concept devices, and is rumored to have a launch planned this year.
Google’s AI assistant can now complete multi-app tasks in a single prompt, like finding a restaurant and sending it to a friend. The upgrade isn’t exclusive to the S25 phones, but it will work across Samsung and Google apps. It’s part of a wave of AI updates announced by Google today.
Confused? It just means Samsung’s new flagships lack the magnets that Qi2 certification requires, but they will wirelessly juice at up to 15W on a Qi2 charger when using one of Samsung’s official Qi2 Ready magnet cases. They’re the first of what are expected to be a lot of Qi 2 Ready Android phones this year.
The UK government is leaning into its plan to “unleash AI” with a new set of tools for civil servants. The distinctly British name comes from ‘80s sitcom Yes Minister. At least it’s confirmed that governments love to say “AI” as much as companies do — 22 times in this press release.
Fans of the fighting game series feared the worst when longtime boss Katsuhiro Harada, who’s worked on the series for over 30 years, switched his LinkedIn status to #OpenToWork. Not to worry though, as he says he just wants to meet new people and expand his horizons: “I don’t actually have that many friends.”
[Twitter]
