Samsung's New Galaxy Foldables Come With Gemini Notebook
Engadget ● Covered by 2 sources
Samsung's new foldables ship loaded with Google's AI, including Gemini Notebook and expanded task automation. Gemini can now book travel, shop, and make reservations across 40 apps instead of just a few.
Based on reporting by Engadget — read the original for the full story.
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Google and Samsung used Galaxy Unpacked to pile a stack of AI features onto the new Z Fold 8 series and Z Flip 8, and the headline addition is Gemini Notebook — the rebranded version of NotebookLM — coming preinstalled on the devices. It's built for pulling together research from scattered sources: feed it links, videos and text about, say, a European trip, and it can spit back slide decks, flash cards, podcasts, or just answer questions about the material through its chat function. Some of that requires a paid Gemini subscription, which is why Google is bundling a six-month trial of Google AI Pro with every Fold 8 Ultra, Fold 8 and Flip 8.
The more practical upgrade might be task automation, a feature Google quietly introduced in beta back in February. Back then it worked with a handful of apps. Now Gemini can reach into 40 of them, handling things like shopping, dinner reservations, travel bookings and ticket purchases on your behalf. On the Z Flip 8, you don't even need to unfold the phone — a long press of the power button pulls up the feature right from the Flex Window. Google also says Gemini can now parse complex images as prompts and actually understand what's on your screen, which sounds like a small tweak but changes how useful it is for anything visual.
The AI push doesn't stop at phones. The Galaxy Watch 9 gets Gemini access triggered by a wrist raise, no tapping required. And Samsung and Google used the event to show off two additional frames for their Android XR smart glasses, which are still on track for a fall launch — details on those remain thin for now.
Perhaps the most quietly useful announcement is the new migration tool built into Android 17. It lets iPhone users move their photos, videos, contacts, messages, calendar, Google accounts, passwords, WiFi credentials and even eSIM data over to Android without installing a separate app. It's already rolling out to select Pixel phones and will launch initially on the Fold 8 Ultra, Fold 8 and Flip 8 — a sign Google wants switching platforms to feel less like a chore and more like an afterthought.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
Bundling Gemini Notebook and a six-month AI Pro trial into hardware is the obvious play when your AI features need a paid tier to actually work — give people a taste, then let the subscription clock start ticking. The frictionless iPhone migration tool is the sleeper hit here, though; nothing drives platform switching like removing the one thing that always made it annoying.
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