Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is testing a new split-screen functionality for Gemini.
- This would allow Gemini to read the contents of other apps open in split-screen mode without an overlay or Gemini Live.
- The feature may be limited to book-style foldabes or tablets.
Google’s Circle to Search and Gemini overlays have been two remarkable ways to let Gemini view content from other apps. But their application remains limited since the overlay closes as soon as we switch back to the other app. The other alternative is to share your screen with Gemini Live, but that may not match the regular interface in terms of functionality. Now, Google may be working to partially solve that by allowing Gemini to interpret another app’s content, though the application may be limited to a specific set of devices.
Google now appears to be testing an alternative way to use context from other apps in Gemini, but without engaging the overlay. With this, you should be able to enquire Gemini about the app opened alongside in a split-screen view.
We spotted this being tested for devices with larger screens, such as book-style foldables and Android tablets, and it won’t work with regular candybar phones, despite recent improvements to split-screen view with Android 16. However, since Gemini already supports split-screen on regular phones, we might see this new feature extended later.
In version 16.46.61 of the Google app, we spotted a button being tested that lets you read the contents of other apps, though not without your consent (we hope!). With some internal tweaks, we see a new Share screen and app content button appear above the text input box on Gemini. Upon tapping, Gemini can view the other app being used simultaneously.
In addition to allowing Gemini to view the app, we can ask specific questions about the screen using text input as usual. For instance, we added access to the Play Store and asked, “What’s this?” and Gemini responded based on the information on the screen.
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While the feature gives us a summary of the “You” page in the Play Store, it doesn’t work well when asked the same question for specific app listings. That indicates it’s still a work in progress and may take a while before being rolled out, even in the beta channels. However, we will keep you updated as soon as there is more progress.
⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
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