Google talks less about AI and more about how Gemini uses in-car cameras for ‘Android Halo’ features [Video]

In a discussion on the Google for Developers channel, Android Head Sameer Samat talks about Android 17 upgrades, the future of AI on Android, Gemini’s car upgrades on Android Automotive, and more.

At the forefront of the discussion is an interesting admission from Google. That’s right, people don’t want to hear about AI anymore. There was no mention of “AI” at the Android Show, even though almost every new feature leverages AI. Sameer Samat explains that the effort was made to focus on how users actually benefit from these features, rather than the technology that powers them.

This conversation delves into the future of previously announced AI-powered features in Android, including Gboard’s “Rambler” (great demo in the video) and “Superfill” for forms. Both are part of Google’s Gemini Intelligence push.

One of the most important notes here concerns “Android Halo.” This feature was a major mention of Android during the Google I/O keynote, but it wasn’t actually explained.

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Samat describes Halo in the context of AI agents, saying:

The way Android handles this is we announced this new concept called Android Halo. What Android Halo is is a dedicated place in the status bar where the agent of your choice (Gemini or another agent) can actually get updates and input about the task you’re having it perform. So the agents that are doing things in the background want to ask you questions, give you updates, and show you results and results. We think this is an interesting new point about how computing is evolving and how operating systems are enabling things that perform long-running tasks to run more seamlessly.

The full integration with Halo hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the idea here seems fundamentally similar to that of live notifications. Persistent icons allow users to quickly check in to agent AI tasks with a single tap, providing a dedicated location that doesn’t move or change between apps.

The discussion then turns to cars with Google built into them: Android Automotive.

Inside the car, Samat briefly explains further Gemini upgrades coming in the future, including the ability to use natural language to adjust things like climate control and lane assist. But what’s even better is that Gemini can connect to this particular car’s front-facing camera, so you can use it to ask questions about what’s going on in front of the car.