Amid another busy Galaxy Unpacked event and the reveal of several new Samsung foldables and smartwatches, there’s also news from Google in partnership with Samsung: Several new Android features are going to show up first on the Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Z Flip 8, before appearing on Pixels and other phones.
This has become something of a tradition with Samsung’s mid-year product launches, as a smattering of new features—including gaming support for Circle to Search—appeared first on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 last year.
For 2026, the emphasis is on Gemini. First, the Gemini Intelligence feature that completes tasks for you, launched in beta in May, is being expanded to support more than 40 apps and is available out of the box on the new Galaxy foldables. Plus, you can launch your agentic assistant with a screengrab now as well as a prompt (so maybe a picture of an item of clothing you want the AI to look for online).
Google hasn’t specified which 40 apps are now included, but the idea is the same as before: Gemini can carry out more admin for you, like booking cabs or reserving tables, in your apps. You’ll still get an overview of what the AI is up to on your screen, as well as final approval on any important actions, and you can stop the process at any time.
Credit: Google
Next up is the newly rebranded Gemini Notebook (the AI research tool previously known as NotebookLM). There are no new features here, but the app is going to be preinstalled on the foldables that Samsung just unveiled, and on the Z Fold 8 devices, you can take advantage of the wider screen to drag and drop elements (such as images and web links) into your notebooks from other apps.
Additionally, if you buy a Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, or Galaxy Z Flip 8, you get six months of Google AI Pro for free (usually $19.99 a month). Compared to the free tier, Google AI Pro gets you video generation, the Antigravity coding tool, YouTube Premium Lite, 5TB of storage to play with, and significantly higher usage limits across all of Google’s AI tools (including Gemini and Gemini Notebook).
The third Gemini perk for those investing in a new Samsung device applies to the Galaxy Watch 9. On the new smartwatch, Gemini will start listening for instructions as soon as you raise your wrist to talk—no wake word required. It’s a small tweak, but means you’ll get faster access to the AI.
Lastly, Google has also announced “streamlined switching” from iPhones, built into Android 17 and available on the new Samsung phones. You’ll no longer need a cable, as it now works wirelessly, and extra data types are now supported as well—including your Google Account details and wifi credentials, on top of photos, videos, contacts, messages, and calendars.
This improved switching method has already started rolling out on Pixel devices, Google says, and will, reportedly, soon be showing up on other Android devices as well.
