San Francisco, February 1, 2026, 04:14 (Pacific Time)
Google is starting to roll out video summaries to its NotebookLM Android and iOS apps, adding the ability to convert users’ source material into AI-generated narrated slide videos, Android Central and gHacks reported. (Android Central)
The move is significant because the battle over where people do their “research” has shifted to the phone. With NotebookLM in your pocket, Google is more likely to become a daily habit rather than a tool you open once a week.
It’s not just your speed that’s at stake, but your trust as well. Google’s Play Store description states that NotebookLM works based on user-uploaded sources, displays quotes next to answers, and is an attempt to anchor the AI’s answers to documents rather than the open web. (Google Play)
In a July 2025 post, Google Labs’ Shan Wang and Usama Bin Shafqat created the first video overview format that “takes the form of narrated slides.” Google says the AI host can pull in images, diagrams, quotes, and numbers from users’ documents as visual alternatives to audio summaries. (Blog)
According to 9to5Google, users are using Android and iOS apps.[Studio]You can generate a video summary from the tab, control playback speed and play past videos. The update expands infographic controls to allow users to select orientation, select source, set output language, and add prompts before generation. (9to5Google)
BGR says the rollout has been uneven, with some users still waiting for the option to appear. It also said that mobile users have not used video summaries since they were added to the web version in 2025. (BGR)
Apple’s App Store release notes indicate an iOS update dated January 22 that adds options to customize infographics and slides, including output language and prompts, in addition to video summaries. The same notebook is promoting a new “Ultra” plan that promises “50x more content generation” and up to 600 sources per notebook. (app store)
Android Authority says mobile users can create and watch video summaries, but some web controls are still missing, such as toggling visual styles. It states that users can trigger creation from the notebook list or the Studio button within a notebook. (Android Authority)
However, Google warns that the video summaries are machine-generated and “may include inaccuracies and audio glitches.” NotebookLM’s help page states that generating the video takes time and runs in the background, so users may need to access it again later. (Pomoc Google)
Google launched a mobile app for NotebookLM in 2025 after Biao Wang wrote that “one of the most frequent requests we receive is for a mobile app.” He said the initial version will be further improved and features will be added over time. (Blog)
The update lands in a busy market of AI note-taking tools, with apps like Notion, Anthropic’s Claude, and Microsoft’s OneNote all chasing the same study and work crowd. Google is betting that with richer output on mobile, beyond just chat, NotebookLM will no longer be confined to a browser tab.
