Android Show 2025 live updates: Material 3 Expressive, Android 16, Gemini and more from Google's pre I/O event

With that, we're closing this liveblog but join us next week for more liveblogs! There will be presentations from NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang, Microsoft's Build developer conference and Google I/O 2025, and we'll be blogging the latter two live! The tech event calendar is packed for the next few weeks and you'll get all the news here on Engadget. Thanks as always for joining us, and have a wonderful week ahead.

We've already published a trio of articles around today's news, which Aaron has helpfully dropped into this liveblog. If you prefer a single page with all the news in one place, look no further than our roundup of everything Google announced at the Android Show today.

Samsung has announced that Gemini will come to Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Buds devices "in the coming months," and this would mark the first time Gemini is appearing on Samsung's wearable lineup. The company added that "activating Gemini will be smoother than ever when paired with the Galaxy Buds3 series."

Yeah, It's an interesting approach from Google to break things out like this ahead of IO. That said, I bet they held some of the juiciest stuff back for next week, so y'all better be sure to tune in on May 20 for round two.

The Android Show has wrapped and we're about to finish up this liveblog. A tight 30-minute presentation is always nice, but it begs a question we asked last night after Samsung's 15-minute Unpacked: Could this have been an email? Anyway, Google has released a bunch of blog posts detailing what's new, and our team is currently digging into them to make sure we haven't missed any nuggets of news.

Yea, the Gemini stuff seems useful. But I have to admit, I just don't have that many questions that need answering. At least not ones that AI can handle in a way I want just yet.

Yeah, Material 3 Expressive looks like a small but meaningful upgrade to Android's design language and interface. I'm looking forward to seeing if Gemini makes a meaningful difference in the assistant experiences on Wear OS and Android Auto.

How about you Igor, any big takeaways from the Android Show?

The evolution of the Find Hub is interesting too. I'm not a big smart tag person, but there are some niche situations where I do want to keep tabs on certain things and I feel like this change opens that up for me.

I really like the look of Material 3 Expressive. It's bright, it's colorful and it's dynamic in a way that I feel like more OSes ought to be.

Oh wait, I guess that's it. A very subtle tease and a quick reminder of all the cool new phones running Android on sale today.

What did you think of the show, Sam? Any highlights?

Dieter Bohn, Director, Product Narrative for Android, is showing off the latest Android phones.

Android 16 adds new features for scam detection and device finding

Google

Android 16's new Advanced Protection feature simplifies the task of managing your phone's security settings.

This summer's Android 16 release will add several new and updated security measures that should make it more difficult for criminals to scam Android users or take advantage of stolen Android phones. After introducing AI features in March that detect fraudulent messages based on common language patterns, Google is working on teaching its models to recognize a wider range of text scams, such as those unpaid road toll scams you've probably seen this year. It's also adding faster pattern analysis to Google Play Protect so it can unmask malicious apps more quickly.

Starting in Android 16, it will be impossible to grant certain accessibility privileges while on a call with an unknown contact. Meanwhile, the new Key Verifier feature prevents scammers from co-opting your known contacts, letting you and a trusted contact swap public encryption keys to confirm each other's identities.

Read more: Android 16 adds new features for scam detection and device finding

Not only did Samat tease some potential Android-based glasses, Dieter Bohn, director of product narrative, is on the stream showing off a range of flagship Android phones and features.

In a twist I did not expect, former The Verge editor Dieter Bohn is here to showcase a few recent Android phones.

Oh, and here's our One More Thing?

Samat is back to remind people that the next Android beta will be available soon, for anyone who can't wait for an official release later this fall.

Another look at the Find Hub.

The Find Hub will even support satellite connectivity features, so you can let friends and family know you're safe even when you might not have cell service.

New Find Hub coming to Androids.

Ahem, "Baby Yoda has a name. It's Din Grogu.

As such, Find My Device is getting renamed to Find Hub.

Stella Loh, Senior Product Manager for Android Platform, is discussing new security features for Android.

Google is bringing Gemini to Wear OS, Android Auto and more

Google

Google Gemini is coming to more devices

Google is bringing Gemini to more devices. During Tuesday's airing of The Android Show: I/O Edition, the company said its family of AI models would soon power the conversational experiences on Android Auto, Wear OS, Google TV and beyond. I know what you're thinking: don't those platforms already come with Google Assistant? They do, but Google is promising Gemini will make every device it comes to more conversational.

For instance, once Gemini arrives on Wear OS, Google says you won't need to get the wording of your request just right for the software to understand you. Instead, you can say something like "Remember I'm using locker 43 today," and Gemini will know to set a reminder for you. Google is promising similar enhancements on Android Auto, where Google Assistant has been an important part of the experience for years.

Read more: Google is bringing Gemini to Wear OS, Android Auto and more

Google is also expanding the Find My Device network to support a wider range of gadgets with embedded smart tags. Or tags that you tack on yourself.

On the security front, Google says the Messages app has gotten better at detecting scam texts.

Not mentioned during this past segment, but Sony and Samsung are also bringing Gemini to some of their new earbuds.

And while we're still waiting to learn a lot more about Android XR, Gemini is heading to that as well.

Kim says Gemini is coming to Google TV sometime later this year. One example of a feature would be using it to find age-appropriate movies for children.

Gemini is also coming to Google TV.

I don't know about yall but I don't feel comfortable letting any generative AI assistant summarize my incoming messages in a car...

Gemini is also coming to Android Auto and cars with Google built-in, which can be used to stuff like translate things on the fly or look up EV charging stations.

Google plans to bring Gemini to Wear OS devices, Android Auto-compatible cars and Google TV. Unfortunately, we don't have exact timeline for any of these beyond sometime in the next few months.

Guemmy Kim, Senior Director, PM and UX at Android, announced Gemini is coming to Wear OS.

One new feature is being able to use Gemini on the Pixel Watch. The cool thing is that if the watch has an LTE connection, it doesn't need to be tethered to your phone to answer questions or do stuff like set reminders.

Now Guemmy Kim is here to talk about the Gemini experience on a wider range of devices.

Well, I guess that's one way to demo Gemini Live. I'm not sure Google has done a good job of explaining just how different Gemini is from Google Assistant.

Now obviously, Gemini is a multi-faceted product. Shah is showing off its ability to easily summarize emails before opening up his phone's camera so that Gemini can use object recognition to identify what it can see.

Rohan Shah, Senior Product Manager of Android Platform, is showing what Gemini Live can do.

Google gives Android an animated makeover with Material 3 Expressive

Google

Sample screenshots of the new colors and typography coming with Material 3 Expressive on Android.

Google is updating the look of Android and Wear OS to make its mobile and wearable operating systems more visually expressive and animated.

Google has dubbed its new design system Material 3 Expressive, and plans to introduce it when Android 16 and Wear OS 6 launch later this year. Material 3 Expressive builds on the Material You design changes Google made with the introduction of Android 12 by adding "more natural, springy animations," a greater sense of depth, updated "dynamic color themes" and "emphasized typography." If you're familiar with Apple's approach to animation in iOS, Google seems to be using a similar philosophy here, making software elements more reactive to each other and your input, and layering in haptics so you can feel them react, too.

Read more: Google gives Android an animated makeover with Material 3 Expressive

Next is Rohan Shah to talk about Gemini integration.

It's designed specifically to take advantage of the Pixel Watch's round display, while also increasing power efficiency by around 10 percent.

Wear OS 6 updates.

But Material 3 Expressive isn't limited to just phones, because it's heading to the Wear OS 6 too, starting with the Pixel Watch.

If you blinked, you probably missed it, but Google is bringing a Live Activities-like feature to Android.

A more refined home screen grid.

Google is also adding a new notification feature called Live Updates. It provides more granular timelines on stuff like delivery and ride hailing apps, which is always nice.

Mindy Brooks, VP, PM and UX of Android Platform, is discussing how the new Material 3 Expressive features work.

One change is the addition of haptic feedback when you open recent apps and dismiss something.

I'm sad to see Matías Duarte isn't here to lead this portion of the presentation. He is always such a character.

One big goal for the Material design is to be more responsive, glancable and simply easier to use. Google really wants Android to make you feel something, which is why this new update is called Material 3 Expressive.

The first big topic is Material design. Mindy Brooks, VP and PM of Android UX is here to explain.

But Samat is pointing out Android isn't just an OS for phones and that it's important for all sorts of gadgets to play nicely together.

His opening preamble is how about much progress flagship Android handsets have made in recent years, both Pixels and third-party devices.

The Android Show has officially started.

First up is Sameer Samat, president of the Android ecosystem.

And the livestream has officially started! Or at least we have music and a countdown.

There are fewer reasons than ever to install an Android beta. Google has done a lot work to speed up the cadence of platform releases and the company's partners, to their credit, have become much better about bringing the latest version of Android to more devices and faster. Plus, we're at the stage where everything Google introduces is a refinement to Android's base rather than anything radically new.

Yea, similar to how Google's priorities have shifted away from Android and towards AI, I feel like Android betas haven't had as much impact recently as they had in years past. Which isn't a bad thing, Android is just a much more mature platform now.

Slightly related: I just got an email about counting down to Google I/O, which starts in exactly seven days!

By the way Igor and Sam, how do both of you feel about installing the Android beta for yourselves? I know some of us on the team do it to check out features ahead of public release, but lately it's felt less useful to do so.

If I remember correctly, this is a pre-recorded livestream, so things should proceed at a brisk pace with few surprises.

And just in case, here's another link hosted on Google's Android homepage.

We're almost 10 minutes out, but Google still hasn't started the livestream on its Android YouTube page.

But there is a placeholder link, so I'm going to drop it here for anyone planning on watching it along with us.

We understand the duality of AI better than anyone else: Great for some tasks, absolutely terrible for others. 😅

Well it sounds like we picked the right person for the AI gig then! Who knew Geminis would be perfect for the Google AI beat.

Let me tell you, as a Gemini, I wish Google would give its assistant a proper name. I already struggle with all the hate Geminis get. I don't need an AI tarnishing our already poor reputation.

But again, I think that's another reason why I'm happy this show is happening, because I have definitely have AI fatigue. So if Google wants to break out Android news like this, that's makes things easier to digest.

I like Gemini more than Bard, but I'm not sure I'm in love with either name.

Is Gemini a good name? I kind of liked Bard. (Insert rofl emoji to convey sarcasm).

For what it's worth, I think Google is definitely all-in on Gemini. But the transition process hasn't been as smooth as I would have imagined.

At this point Gemini is clearly the main thing on phones. It's the rest of the Android ecosystem like Google TV, Nest Hubs and so on that have to play catchup.

I've been saying for a long time that Google needs to give its assistant a real name. I just didn't think that would come alongside Google building a whole new model

I guess another question for you Sam — is Gemini replacing Google Assistant? Is that something we'll ever get an answer to?

Also, with Gemini still clearly in the process of becoming Google's main AI agent, I'm curious to see how the divide between it and the old Google Assistant shifts.

After all, it wouldn't be a modern presentation from Google without some talk of machine learning.

I'm also curious to see how much overlap we're going to get between Android itself and its growing list of AI-powered tools.

On top of a new UI, I'm hoping to see some more support for adaptive layouts for foldables and more info about satellite connectivity, which has become a bit of a trend in recent years.

But I'm sure Google a lot more in mind for the show.

Sam you're our lead Android reporter — what do you want to see the most today? Anything groundbreaking? Any "one more thing" we should expect?

Yep for those who are curious what we might see in a few hours, check out Igor's piece on what we expect to see from Google at the Android Show today, as well as what more might come from I/O on May 20.

This isn't to say that the current version of Android 15 looks bad. But I must admit I've gotten a bit bored with only being able to choose from Google's pastel color palette if I want to theme the OS with UI elements that match my background.

That said, some of the leaks regarding what Google appears to be calling Material 3 Expressive look quite promising. Android updated design language looks bolder, more colorful and supports a wider range of animations that should make Android easier to use and more engaging to look at. That sounds like a welcome change in my book.

Also, in some ways, this might be a sign of the times. Back in the mid to late 2010s when fresh hardware and news about Android dominated Google I/O, we saw much bigger leaps between generations. But now that modern phone OSes are much more polished, it feels like Android has been slightly deprioritized in favor of topics like AI, which obviously has a lot more room to grow.

Ahoy! Perhaps the most interesting thing about this Android Show is that its even happening at all, considering that Google I/O is just a week away.

Ostensibly, the reasoning for this is because it gives Google a more focused stage to talk about specific Android developments like an improved UI, while leaving plenty of time during I/O to talk about AI and everything Gemini.

The show kicks off properly at 1pm ET today (so in just under three hours), and we'll have senior reviewer Sam Rutherford and our AI reporter Igor Bonifacic on the liveblog today. You'll see support from myself and others from the team, too. It truly takes a village. An Android village?

Hello everyone, welcome to our second liveblog of the week, and the first of our Google event liveblogs this month! It's the Android Show: I/O edition today, and our team is ready to cover all the news as the company announces it.