Google recently released a first preview version of Android 16, with a view to officially launching this new version earlier than usual. For the moment, this is a preview for developers, and Google has not yet announced the concrete changes that this new version of Android will bring to users. However, digging into the Android 16 documentation, news site Android Authority discovered a new OS feature that could revolutionize the way we use our smartphones.
More precisely, our colleagues have spotted a series of new Android APIs linked to a new functionality called “app functions”. And according to Google’s documentation, an “app function” is “a specific functionality that an application offers to the system” and who can be “integrated into various system functionalities”. Android Authority also mentions an example of use of this new feature: a restaurant application could offer an “app function” to order food from the system.
In any case, the idea would therefore be that applications, via this Android API, allow access to some of their functionalities, using tools integrated into the operating system. And if Google doesn’t say more for the moment, it is very possible that the company’s goal, in developing this new Android feature, is to allow its Gemini assistant to interact with the applications installed on the smartphone. the user.
Gemini could become a real helper
Like ChatGPT, Gemini can answer questions, help find inspiration for a text, or even generate pieces of computer code. Google’s AI also has a system of extensions which allows for integration between Gemini and certain services, such as Google Maps, YouTube or Gmail. For example, when the Google Workspace extension is enabled, the user can ask Gemini to search for an email in Gmail, which is part of the productivity suite.
However, the problem is that these Gemini integrations are limited to a small list of services. And Google couldn’t develop similar extensions for all the apps available on Android. So, the solution would be to offer “app function” APIs so that they can develop these integrations themselves.
But, as usual, for the moment, caution is advised, while waiting for Google to say more about these APIs. In any case, this would be an important new feature for Android. As a reminder, if Google has brought forward the release of the first preview of Android 16, it is because it plans to launch this new version in the second quarter of 2025.
- Google recently released the preview version of Android 16, the stable version of which is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2025
- And by digging into Google’s documentation, Android Authority discovered a new API that could allow the Gemini Assistant to interact with apps installed on the smartphone
- In addition to answering questions, like ChatGPT, AI could therefore allow the user to perform actions on the apps installed on their smartphone
