Google's September Android Drop brings Motion Assist and more Gemini tricks

Google's September Android Drop adds new Gemini features, Motion Assist, Guided vision, Google Keep integration in Messages and new chat customisation options

Google has announced its September Android Drop, bringing a set of new features to Android phones. The update adds a way for Gemini to remember where users have kept important items, while Gemini Live gets a new Guided Vision feature that can describe objects and surroundings for blind and low-vision users. Google is also adding Motion Assist to help reduce motion sickness when using a phone in a moving vehicle.

 

The September update also includes new features for Google Messages, including Google Keep integration that lets users create and share notes from conversations, as well as custom themes for individual chats. 

Gemini can remember where you put things

Google is adding a remembered items feature to Find Hub, allowing users to ask Gemini to save the location of objects that do not have a tracker attached.

 

For example, users can tell Gemini, “Hey Google, remember in Find Hub that I put my passport in my bedroom drawer.” They can also add a photo of the item. When they need to find it later, they can ask Gemini for its location or check the new remembered items section in Find Hub.

 

The feature requires Android 16 or newer and is available in countries where both Gemini and Find Hub are supported.

Motion Assist aims to reduce motion sickness

Google is also introducing Motion Assist on phones running Android 17. The feature adds a bubble overlay to the screen that moves in response to the motion of the vehicle, with the aim of reducing the mismatch between what the eyes see on the screen and what the body feels while travelling.

Users can add Motion Assist to Quick Settings or set it to activate automatically. The shape, colour and opacity of the bubbles can also be adjusted.

Gemini Live gets Guided vision

Google is adding Guided vision to Gemini Live as an accessibility feature for blind and low-vision users. It uses the phone's camera to describe objects and surroundings through voice.

 

Google says Guided vision can help with tasks such as reading fine print on a food label, reading a menu in a dim restaurant or identifying household objects. If the camera is not positioned correctly, the feature can provide voice instructions to reframe the shot, pan across an area or centre an object.

 

Guided vision is coming to phones running Android 9 and newer.

Google Keep comes to Google Messages

The September Android Drop also adds Google Keep integration to Google Messages. Users can create and share Keep notes directly from a conversation by tapping the plus icon.

 

Participants in a chat can view, edit and add to shared notes, which can be used for grocery lists, holiday planning and other group activities. Google said that the feature has started to roll out.

Google Messages gets custom chat themes

Google Messages is also getting chat themes, allowing users to customise individual conversations with different backgrounds and colours.

 

Users can select from available wallpapers or use their own photos as a chat background. Google Messages will automatically match the text bubble colours with the selected background, while users can also adjust the colours themselves.