The 2026 version of The Android Present was a dizzying show of AI-related buzzwords (I’m nonetheless not 100% certain of the distinction between Gemini Intelligence and Private Intelligence), however of all of the Android 17 options introduced throughout the pre-Google I/O broadcast, I’m significantly excited by Create My Widget.
Customized widgets have been a function of Android since 2009 (within the resizable, interactive sense), however in Android 17, Google is “taking step one in generative UI” by including Gemini’s AI powers into the widget-making course of.
It’s true that apps like KWGT and Widgetopia already give Android customers loads of widget customization choices, however these widgets nonetheless depend on predefined knowledge formulation just like the climate, battery share, and inventory market efficiency (except you’re comfy growing your personal code-based widgets).
Create My Widget, then again, pulls knowledge out of your calendar, inbox, and messaging apps (privately, in fact) to ship widgets which might be genuinely personalised to you. And as an iPhone person, I don’t see how iOS can compete with this degree of first-party personalization.
And Create My Widget is far from the only useful AI tool coming to Android 17.
We’ve rounded up the best Android 17 features announced at The Android Show in a separate article, but Google’s new Gemini Intelligence umbrella includes multi-step task automation — which, if it works as promised, could be like having a PA in your pocket — Gemini integration in Chrome, improved Autofill capabilities, and a new Rambler tool for more accurate speech-to-text conversion.
It’s noteworthy, too, that all of these tools have been announced before Google I/O proper, which is scheduled to kick off on May 19. By the time WWDC 2026 rolls around on June 8, Apple’s competition may look even more formidable than it does now (although it’s worth remembering that Google is now Apple’s AI partner— though we don’t yet know the details of that relationship).
Google says Gemini Intelligence features, including Create My Widget, will “roll out in waves starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer,” and “will become available across your Android watch, car, glasses, and laptops later this year.”
For the latest on what else was revealed at Google’s Android Show event, check out our deep dives into the new Googlebook laptops and the redesigned Android Auto.
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