4 Gemini Features Every Android User Should Know

Published Jan 20, 2026, 4:01 PM EST

Brandon has been involved in tech journalism since the year 2000 and was part of the OG team of XDA and Pocketnow. He's currently a staff writer for MakeUseOf, covering mobile and consumer tech. Brandon likes to help people take full advantage of their technology. 

He lives outside of Philadelphia, PA, with his wife and three kids. When he's not writing, Brandon plays drums and enjoys listening to music. 

He's a graduate of the Villanova School of Business where he got a bachelors degree in finance.

For now, most people's integration with Gemini happens on a phone, and Android has the deepest integrations and most tools to help you in your daily life. A lot of these features that offer a lower-friction way to interface with Gemini, you might not be using. Let's explore a handful of Gemini features that you're probably not using on your Android phone, but should be.

Invoking Gemini from anywhere

Gestures, button shortcuts & more

Using Gemini doesn't require you first launch the Gemini app to use it. Instead, there are some quicker ways to use it, including:

• Press and hold the power button to invoke Gemini (works while the screen is off!)
• Turn on the corner-swipe gesture to invoke Gemini from any screen by going to Settings -> System -> Navigation Mode -> Turn on Swipe to invoke assistant
• Say "Hey Google" or "Ok Google" from any screen. This also works with the screen off, so you can use Gemini even if your phone is across the room, within listening distance. But you have to enable this by going to the Gemini app, then tap your avatar in the upper right -> Settings -> Enable Talk to Gemini hands-free

Once you invoke Gemini with one of the above methods, the contents of your screen are automatically passed to Gemini. This is very powerful. If you're looking at a photo, email, or any other content you want to ask about, invoking Gemini with a swipe gesture or press and hold of the power button will let you speak your question based on the screen contents like "What is this email about?" or "What kind of car is this?" or "Where can I stream this movie for free?"

Using Gemini in Google Apps

Gmail, Google Maps, Photos & more

Gemini is now baked into most Google apps you use, and it's very helpful. I'll give you a handful of examples of where Gemini helps a lot in Google apps:

• Google Maps: Maps today is not just a navigation app; it contains reviews, location details, operating hours, and more (it even has a new immersive view you have to check out). When you tap into a location in Google Maps, you can now tap the blue "ask a question" to bring up Gemini, so you can ask useful things like "What is the best thing to eat here?" (and it will read through the reviews) or "Is there a happy hour?" etc.
• Google Photos: You can use Gemini in Google Photos (though some people prefer a Google Photos alternative) in two ways: first, you can tap any photo and tap the star icon labeled "ask," which opens a prompt where you can ask anything about the photo. Second, you can use the fourth tab at the bottom — the ask button — to bring up a Gemini session where you can ask a question against your entire photo library, like "Photos of my dad with my son Phil" or "Food pictures from New York."
• Gmail: This is by far my favorite way to use Gemini within Google apps. Whether using the "summarize this email" button to summarize a sprawling email with dozens of replies, or trying to get a key piece of information from six months ago without having to reread dozens of emails, Gemini saves a tremendous amount of time in Gmail by reading and analyzing sometimes dozens of messages quickly.

Gemini saves a tremendous amount of time in Gmail by reading and analyzing sometimes dozens of messages quickly.

Pass content in the Sharesheet

The fastest way to send content to Gemini

We previously talked about using Gemini within the Android Sharesheet, but it's so important and useful, I wanted to mention it again because it's so powerful. Using the Share button in Android, you can send any content — whether an image, an article, a screenshot, a social media post, or more — directly to Gemini.

Check out Personal Intelligence

Personal context is a huge win

This has frankly been mind-blowing. At the time of writing, Personal Intelligence is out in beta, but only to Gemini Pro and Gemini Ultra subscribers. Free users will get it later, but Google has not announced when it'll be available to everyone.

Gemini connects with many personal data sources (only if you opt in)

Here is why Personal Intelligence is so amazing: if you grant it access to your google workspace (including Gmail, Drive, Photos, Calendar, Keep, Tasks and more), Gemini will be able to use your data as a source for answering questions. I'll give you a few mind-blowing examples of how this can make life easier:

• Prompt: What is my wife's license plate number? [Gemini knows who my wife is, what car she drives, and can reference my Photos library to find a picture of her car where the license plate is showing]
• Prompt: When is my daughter's next cheerleading competition? [Gemini can go into my email, find the relevant email, extract the data, and then report back on when the next competition is]
• Prompt: Link me to the recent MKBHD video I watched about the Tesla Model Y. [Gemini knows my YouTube search history because I opted into it, and it can reference videos I've watched previously]

If you have Gemini Pro or Ultra and want to turn on Personal Intelligence, open Gemini -> Tap your avatar in the upper right -> Personal Intelligence.

Gemini is deeply integrated into Android, finally

While Apple continues to fumble with its AI ambitions, Google has baked Gemini deeply into Android (and most Google apps), giving you incredible intelligence no matter what you're doing on your phone. You can easily invoke it through several methods, or you can use it within the apps you use every day.

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