Google Announces Major Updates Across Android, Wear OS, Gemini, and More

During its The Android Show I/O Edition live stream today, Google announced a sweeping set of updates across its biggest platforms. The biggest updates include a dynamic and colorful new design language, Gemini capabilities across more devices than ever before, and new safety and security features.

Left unsaid, mostly, was when Google will release Android 16. I had expected the company to announce that this new version was completed today, but it instead only vaguely noted that it would come first to Pixel devices next month, while many of the big new features it announced will arrive later this year.

Here’s what Google did announce.

Material 3 Expressive. Google’s third generation design language–after Material Design and Material You–is perhaps the biggest update yet, with new customization options, more natural animations, subtle background blurring, dynamic color themes, responsive components, and updated typography.

Live Updates. As I wrote in the article In Praise of Samsung One UI 7 (Premium), Live Updates is essentially Dynamic Island for Android, a persistent new type of notification for tracking progress in delivery, ride share, and navigation apps.

Wear OS 6. On Wear OS 6, Material 3 Expressive is used to take best advantage of the round display, with fluid animations that trace the curvature of the device, a sense of depth, refreshed user experiences with motion and responsive feedback, and shape-morphing elements that adapt to the small screen size. Wear OS 6 is also delivering dynamic color-theming, new glanceable buttons that “stretch to hug the display,” and integrated Gemini capabilities. It will even improve the battery life of existing devices by up to 10 percent.

Find Hub. Google’s Find My Device service is being rebranded to Find Hub. It’s a single interface for locating belongings, family, and friends, and it will be improved this year with satellite connectivity integration, new ultra-wide band (UWB) enabled tags, first with Moto, and new partnerships with major airlines, July (a smart luggage company similar to Away), Peak skis, Disney, and more.

New safety and security features. Google Messages offers powerful built-in protections against scams, but it was just updated with improved detection of dangerous crypto, financial, toll road, and gift card scams. And Android 16 expands on the Advanced Protection features from previous versions with a new device-level security setting, intrusion logging, and other advances.

Android Auto. Gemini is coming to Android Auto, and coming to cars with Google built-in later in the year, including the new Lincoln Nautilus, Renault R5 and Honda Passport. You can use natural language to interact with the AI assistant, have it summarize incoming messages, translate your text into over 40 languages, find locations during a drive, connect with Google Maps and other apps, brainstorm, learn something new, and more. Android Auto is also gaining new app catalog categories for games and video so you can pass the time while charging an EV, and expanded digital car key support through partners like Audi, Polestar, and Volvo, with more coming soon.

Google TV. Gemini is coming to Google TV, of course.

Android XR. Google is partnering with Samsung on an extended reality (XR) platform called Android XR that will power headsets, glasses, and “everything in-between” when it’s released later this year. Gemini is coming to Android XR, too, and Google will have a lot more to say about this platform an I/O next week.

OK, great. But when is Android 16 done? 🙂