Android 17, Gemini Intelligence, and Googlebook: My first impressions

Google announced Android 17 and a new line of laptops in a pre-recorded video shown “live” (?) on Tuesday (12th). The Android 17’s highlight is artificial intelligence agents, which has elevated Gemini to “Gemini Intelligence.” The idea of agents performing actions in the background seems appealing to companies. I’m not sure I’d use it. First, because it doesn’t take much effort to create an event in the calendar, for example. Second, because agents require a level of trust that I’m not willing to grant to machines. In the promotional video (which appears at 8:18 in the presentation above), a person takes a photo of a concert poster and sends the image to another person in a text message. Both get excited, and the first person asks Gemini to buy the tickets. Then, Gemini confirms the purchase. How much did those tickets cost? Are they for the premium section? We don’t know! What caught my attention most, however, is Android’s new look. Days after Sameer Samat, head of the Android…