Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 to Feature Gemini AI with Android 17

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, along with its Wide variant and the Google Pixel 11 range, will land this summer running Android 17. This update brings a suite of powerful AI tools and features under the newly crowned Gemini Intelligence brand, boasting new agentic capabilities. These innovations are set to transform how we interact with our devices, enabling AI to complete complex tasks with minimal user input.

The core of Gemini Intelligence lies in its ability to act on your behalf. This means the AI can handle multi-step processes autonomously. Imagine the AI finding your class syllabus in Gmail and adding the required books to your shopping cart, booking your gym session, or building a grocery delivery order from your notes app. According to announcements, these functionalities will be deeply baked into the Android 17 experience, and the new Samsung foldable phones will significantly benefit from these advanced skills.

One of the headline features is multi-step automation. The AI can find your class syllabus in Gmail and add the required books to your shopping cart, book your gym session, or create a grocery delivery order from your notes app. Another innovative function is 'Create My Widget,' which allows you to generate custom home screen widgets by simply describing what you want, from a countdown timer to a weekly meal suggestion or a live package tracker.

The combination of Android’s deep customization options, now accessible via simple prompts, and the multitasking abilities of a foldable phone creates a perfect marriage. Foldable phones are designed for power users due to side-by-side app multitasking. Power users prefer them because they can get more done on a small screen. Gemini Intelligence is the next step of that, handing off tasks to the agent while running two other apps at once on the large screen.

The combination of Android’s deep customization options, now accessible via simple prompts, and the multitasking abilities of a foldable phone creates a perfect marriage.

Of course, the actual effectiveness of these features will need to be tested in daily use. AI accuracy is a known and sometimes quirky factor. However, this is a very serious feature upgrade for the new Android phones, and even more so for the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which will go head-to-head with Apple’s rumored iPhone Fold this year. While the two phones may look similar, the actual user experience could be wildly different.

Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), kicking off on June 8th, will provide a clearer picture of the company's AI vision. Is Apple playing catch-up with Android after promising advanced Siri features that never arrived (resulting in a $250 million lawsuit settlement), or will it go down a different path, focusing on privacy and offering an alternative to the level of personal data Gemini Intelligence requires?

Based on reporting from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, it appears Apple will explore both avenues. iOS 27 will let users choose third-party AI models to power image and text generation. There's a meaningful difference between choosing which AI model answers your questions and giving that model the deep cross-app access Gemini Intelligence needs to actually complete tasks. It's not yet clear if Apple will go that far.

There will be clear daylight between these devices at launch. This distinction could be valuable in either direction in a market where very little else separates premium smartphones. Samsung and Google clearly believe people will happily let AI book flights, hotels, and restaurants with minimal oversight, pulling personal information from across their apps to fill in complex forms. Google even gave the example of Gemini digging through Google Photos to find a passport photo for a flight booking.

This capability is genuinely useful, but also a bit scary. Gemini needs to be all-seeing on your Android phone to work seamlessly, and not everyone will be comfortable with that. If they’re not, perhaps Apple will tempt them over with a less invasive AI toolset. Furthermore, Google and Samsung’s years of experience with foldable UI could give the Android devices a clear early advantage, considering that every first-generation foldable has had teething pains. Don’t be surprised if Samsung and Google lean heavily on Apple’s inexperience and this AI gap in their marketing when all three phones are finally on sale. Conversely, if Apple doesn’t bake agentic AI deeply into iOS 27, that might be a serious pull for more privacy-conscious foldable phone buyers.