![\"Google](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779087436_11_0x0.jpg\")
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All change for Android <\/p>\n
getty<\/p>\n
Updated on May 18 with further analysis of Google\u2019s new upgrade decision.<\/p>\n
Bad news for hundreds of millions of owners of Android smartphones. It turns out that if you want Google\u2019s latest upgrade, anything other than a 2026 phone won\u2019t be good enough. And that means even Samsung\u2019s nearly new, $1500-plus Galaxy S25 doesn\u2019t make the cut.<\/p>\n
As Android specialists @AssembleDebug<\/a> have just warned, Google\u2019s new \u201cGemini Intelligence features are only available on Android devices with the most advanced capabilities and spec requirements.\u201d That means Google\u2019s Pixel 10 series and Samsung\u2019s Galaxy S26 series.<\/p>\n Forbes\u2018Reboot Your PC\u2019\u2014Microsoft Changes \u2018Most Windows Devices\u2019 In JuneBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n Google says Gemini Intelligence<\/a> has been built with security and privacy at its center. This is about automating tasks, but that comes with risks. “Because great AI experiences require uncompromising privacy, we\u2019ve grounded Gemini Intelligence on Android in three core principles.” Those are \u201cexplicit user control, comprehensive data protection (and) operational transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n Per SammyFans<\/a>, \u201cGemini Intelligence is officially arriving first on Samsung phones, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Fold 7 might already be outdated. Google\u2019s new Gemini Intelligence platform landed this week with a requirements list that reads like a bouncer deciding who gets into the club, and some very expensive Samsung Galaxy phones didn\u2019t make the cut.\u201d Phones also need “at least five Android OS upgrades and six years of quarterly security patches.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWhatever the case,\u201d 9to5Google<\/a> says, \u201cGoogle says that Gemini Intelligence will make its debut on Pixel and Samsung Galaxy devices later this year, with a report suggesting that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will be the first to launch the new features.”<\/p>\n All change for Android <\/p>\n getty<\/p>\n Google says<\/a> \u201cwith (these new) AI powered features, users have granular authority to opt-in and out of entire features or disable specific components at any time. By putting the choice in your hands, we ensure that AI assistance feels like a helpful partner rather than an intrusive presence.\u201d But “Gemini Intelligence features are only available on Android devices with the most advanced capabilities and spec requirements.\u201d And that means a 2026 smartphone, it now seems.<\/p>\n While Gemini Intelligence may not be available on the vast majority of Android phones \u2014 even those purchased as recently as last year, excitement is building. To such an extent, in fact, that Android Authority<\/a> now asks \u201cif Gemini can do everything for me, what’s the point of Android?\u201d<\/p>\n If you\u2019re lucky enough to have a new enough phone to run the upgrade, then \u201conce you step back away from its dazzle, you realize that it fundamentally changes how we interact with our smartphones. If Gemini can search, plan, compare, reply, and execute tasks on my behalf, where exactly do I come into the process? Do I actively participate, or just hover over its actions to supervise it? Do I only approve what AI has already done, or let it mess up and come to me later to fix things?\u201d<\/p>\n And this could be a timely boon for Android. \u201cGemini Intelligence promises a whole lot, some of it similar to what Apple promised iPhone owners almost two years ago,\u201d Apple Insider<\/a> says. \u201cApple has yet to produce the personalized Apple Intelligence features that were revealed during WWDC 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n