Google Gemini Enhances Image Sharing and Editing Capabilities

Picture this - Gemini streamlines image sharing to AI assistant

Google has streamlined a key feature of its Gemini AI assistant on Android devices, speeding up image sharing and editing, as spotted by Android Authority. The latest Gemini update lets you send images directly from other apps to Gemini instead of the more cumbersome setup that was in place before. Now, if you have a picture in, for instance, Google Photos, that you want Gemini to look at in conjunction with a text prompt, you can submit it directly via Android's built-in share sheet as you would to send a text with the image attached. That's much easier than starting in the Gemini app, tapping on the upload image button, locating the image you want, and attaching it. And if your image is in the cloud, you would also need to download it to your device. It might not be more than a minute or even less, but if you want Gemini to explain a photo or use one to inform a new AI-generated image, that extra time and friction might put you off the idea. It's not a total revolution for Gemini, however. Submitting images to the AI is faster, but only images. You can't use the sharing button to send text or a link to Gemini. It also doesn't encompass the Gemini overlay, which lets you use Gemini without switching out of the app you're currently using. While the image gets sent to the AI app, you still actually need to switch to the app to use Gemini's features. Though subtle, the update is part of Google's efforts to smooth the road for intuitive engagement with Gemini. If you often use Gemini for multimedia content, the update could save you time in the long run. Gemini will be able to analyze the image and provide insights, descriptions, or even text content based on what it "sees" more quickly than before. This makes the app more useful for users who need to switch between different types of media in their daily workflows. Even if Gemini is only an occasional part of your mobile usage, a minute or less can affect whether you decide to skip using Gemini. That's anathema to Google's plans to embed Gemini throughout your mobile device experience and your life in general. It's also another way for users who already rely on Google's ecosystem, such as Photos or Drive, to thread Gemini into how they use those other services. Making Gemini more convenient is clearly a major goal for Google. As ChatGPT and other AI assistants keep upping their multimodal features, Gemini will need this kind of edge to stay ahead, or at least keep even, with its rivals.

Google Gemini's latest update makes sharing images with the AI tool even faster

With a new change in the latest update, Google is working to make sharing images with Google Gemini even easier. Google has made several improvements to Gemini over the last few months, as well as releasing Gemini Live to all users for free. This trend continues, with the latest update making it much easier to share images from other apps directly with the AI. This change, found in version Google Gemini v1.0.668480831, is available to every user by default, so long as they upgrade to the latest version. The video below, courtesy of Android Authority, shows how this new feature works. To send the image directly to Gemini, users only need to press the share button, bringing up the share sheet at the bottom of the screen. Once this screen has appeared a new Gemini icon has been added to share with the AI the same as they would if they were sending the image to a contact. Once the icon has been clicked users will be taken directly to the Gemini app, where they can ask any question they might have. This isn't the only way to present an image to Google Gemini, as users can still attach images to the chat or use the "Ask about this screen" feature. There's no denying Google has been working to improve Gemini as much as it can. For example, Gemini Live allows you to have uninterrupted conversations with the AI and my colleague Richard Priday found a lot to praise about it when he spent 24 hours with Gemini Live. If you want the best experience with Google Gemini then we would recommend checking our best Android phone list to grab one of the most powerful Gemini-capable phones.

You Might Soon Be Able to Share Images Directly With Google's Gemini App

Gemini Nano -- Google's smallest artificial intelligence (AI) model from the Gemini family to date -- is now being expanded to all Android developers. The AI model so far powered the features on first-party Google apps such as Google Messages and Pixel Recorder on compatible Pixel smartphones and the Galaxy S24 series. However, with this expansion, even third-party apps will be able to use model's capabilities. Meanwhile, the Gemini app is reportedly allowing users to share images directly from other apps using the Android share sheet. The Mountain View-based tech giant introduced Gemini Nano in 2023 as its smallest language model, distilled from the larger Gemini AI model. It was designed to handle on-device AI tasks. So far, it was being used to power AI features on the newer Pixel handsets and the Galaxy S24 series in the first-party Google apps. This is set to change as the company has announced that the AI model will be accessible to Android app developers who can implement Gemini Nano capabilities in their apps with the AI Edge SDK via AICore. Google said that developers will initially only have access to text-based prompts on the Pixel 9 series smartphones. However, support for more devices and modalities will be added in the future. Android Authority reports that Gemini v1.0.668480831 allows images in the Gallery app or in another third-party app to be shared directly with Gemini using the Android share sheet. This functionality can be useful, especially if users have a large number of images stored on their devices. With this, users can find the image in the app where they found it and directly send it to Gemini. Once shared, they can open the app and add a query about it. Gadgets 360 staff members were not able to verify the presence of the feature after updating to the specified version. Apart from this, the tech giant also updated Gemini Live with support for Hindi and eight regional languages at the Google for India 2024 event, while AI overviews will soon be available in four regional languages, in addition to Hindi and English.

Google Gemini could soon get a big AI image generator upgrade to match ChatGPT's DALL-E

Google has upgraded Gemini's AI image generator in the latest Android beta, adding tweaking options to help users create the perfect image. Initially reported by Android Authority, Android beta (v15.40.31.29) adds a precise editing feature that lets you make small tweaks to any image generated by Gemini. In Android Authority's demo, Gemini generates an image of 'a cute dog wearing hat and sunglasses', and the user then asks to 'change the hat with a birthday hat' which Gemini does with ease. This kind of fine tweaking isn't anything new in the world of the best AI image generators, but it's cool to see Google add more image-generation tools to Gemini to compete with the likes of ChatGPT's DALL-E. With Apple Intelligence's Image Playground set to arrive before the end of the year, adding more features to image generation in Gemini will help cement Google's AI as a fantastic alternative for iPhone users who want to generate images with third-party options. From Android Authority's demo, we can see that these precise image-editing tools are still very much in beta, and the author who tested these new features wrote that "the edits aren't always precise and reliable". It's also worth noting that the video has been edited to remove wait times, so when this feature launches on Android it's likely not to be as fast as this demo would suggest. It's impressive to see how far AI image generators have come in such a short space of time. Midjourney, our pick for the best AI image generator, definitely has its work cut out to keep the top spot, with new tools, and updates to existing ones, arriving almost daily. This upcoming update to Google Gemini looks very promising, but we'll need to wait until it officially releases to properly test out its capabilities.

You Might Soon Be Able to Make Inline Edits to Gemini-Generated Images

It is unclear whether the feature will be extended to Gemini web client Google is reportedly working on improving the image generation capabilities of the Gemini chatbot. As per a new report, the Mountain View-based tech giant is adding an inline image editing feature to the artificial intelligence (AI) bot. The feature was spotted in the latest beta version of the Google app, and while it is reportedly being developed for smartphones, it is unclear whether it will also be available on the web client. Notably, the Microsoft Designer platform already offers an inline editing feature, which is powered by Copilot. According to an Android Authority report, the new feature was spotted in the Google for Android beta app version 15.40.31.29. It was seen by the publication during an Android application packaging (APK) teardown process. Those who have signed up for the Google beta programme will not be able to test it out as it's not a visible feature. So far, editing an image using Gemini has been a tough task. This is because if a user did not like a particular detail about the image, they would have to add more details in a follow-up prompt to generate another iteration. However, the next iteration could remove the good parts from the earlier image and introduce new aberrations as well. There was no way to retain the good parts while eliminating the not-so-good ones. But, this might change with the new feature. Based on a demonstration video shared by the publication, the feature works based on a combination of two interactions by the user. Once an image has been generated, the user can highlight a portion of the image and add a follow-up prompt, and Gemini will only change that portion of the image, leaving the rest of it untouched. However, as users can see in the video demo, the feature is far from completion. In several instances, it still changed the whole image despite being instructed to only change a part of it. But it is possible that when the feature is rolled out to users, these issues could be taken care of.

Here's how Gemini will let you fine-tune your generated images (APK teardown)

We activated the feature and have a demo to show you how the precise editing feature will work in Google Gemini. Much like a lot of other AI chatbots, Google Gemini allows for generating images using text prompts. However, the editing process post-generation isn't very intuitive. You have to feed in text prompts to further refine your result, but there's no way to specifically highlight any part of the image for a precise edit. Google is working on adding the ability to make selections for precise edits, and we have a demo to show off how the feature would work on Android.

Gemini on Android just got much better at searching images

Gemini AI's split screen support is now rolling out to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Key Takeaways Gemini app (version 1.0.668480831) now allows users to share images directly from any Android app. Users can now search or ask questions about images shared from other apps without needing to manually open the Gemini app. The Gemini app update is now rolling out on the Google Play Store. Gemini has been a major focus for Google throughout 2024, and the company isn't slowing down on improving it. The company recently rolled out Gemini Live for free to all Android phones and continues to optimize it for select foldables. Now, Google is rolling out a new update to the Gemini app on Android that simplifies image searches by removing an unnecessary step. Related I'm convinced AI will take over, but not in the way you think We're outsourcing people skills 5 As spotted by Android Authority, the latest Gemini app update (version 1.0.668480831) now allows users to share images directly from anywhere on Android. The app has gained support for Android's sharesheet functionality, so you can now share images to Gemini from any app, like WhatsApp or Google Photos, and then search or ask questions about that image. Until now, you had to manually open the Gemini app and attach the image to start a search. But with this update, that extra step is no longer needed -- you can now simply use the share option from any app to send the image directly to Gemini and start searching right away. Close In addition to the new share image option, Gemini also allows you to search directly from screenshots. Just trigger the Gemini shortcut -- typically by holding the power button -- and select Ask about this screen button. While this feature is convenient, the new share image option simplifies the process even further, making it quicker to search from any app or screen. Related Gemini can now turn your messy data into fancy tables in Google Sheets Goodbye manual formatting 1 The Gemini app update with this functionality is now rolling out on the Google Play Store, so you should see it on your Android device soon. While there are still a few things Google Assistant handles better than Gemini, Google is steadily improving Gemini with updates like this, and it's only a matter of time before we forget about Google Assistant altogether.

Gemini on Android now lets you save a few steps when asking questions about images

This saves you from the need to save or download the image and manually attaching it within Gemini. Regardless of your position on the Google Assistant vs. Gemini debate, Gemini is clearly the way forward. Google's AI ambitions are better served with Gemini, thanks to upgrades like Gemini Advanced and Gemini Extensions. If you've made the AI assistant part of your daily routine on your Android, you'd be glad to learn that Gemini is making sharing images easier and saving you a few steps. Google Gemini v1.0.668480831 has added the ability to share images from other apps directly to Gemini. From within other apps, you can use the share button to invoke the Android share sheet and send the image to Gemini. This will then allow you to ask Gemini questions about the image you just sent, making it very convenient and saving you a few steps along the way. Gemini offers several ways to ask questions about images. You can trigger Gemini through its shortcuts and tap the "Ask about this screen" option (which loads the image as a screenshot). You can also open the Gemini app and manually attach the image in the Gemini conversation screen, though you'd need to save/download the image first on your phone for this. The new method saves you from having to save or download the image. This new option, in addition to the above methods, lets you quickly get AI help on an image from your gallery and apps that allow sharing images. This feature is available for default to all users on this latest update. Try it out and let us know what you think about the addition!