It is not a secret that Google is constantly expanding the functionality of its generative artificial intelligence, bringing the Gemini model to the center of the Android ecosystem. As for one of the most interesting characteristics of Gemini Liveor the features of Project Astra whose distribution began at the end of March, and which was later made available for users subscribed to the Advanced plan regardless of the device used, there are interesting news.

Google has decided to take a further step in the direction of accessibility and large -scale spread of advanced features linked to Gemini Live, announcing the Free distribution (starting from the coming weeks) of the functions that allow the use of the smartphone camera to live gemini, but also of what is present on the screen, for all Android usersregardless of the plan signed.

Specifically, these are functionality initially reserved for Gemini Advanced subscribers, which are now extended free of charge to the general public in a context of progressive opening of the ecosystem based on Project Astra, officially presented during the Google I/O 2024.

Users on the free floor will also be able to use the Project Astra functions in Gemini Live

As always, the Mountain View company does not just release new functions without a well -defined strategy, the goal is to make the interaction with Gemini increasingly natural and immersive, through visual and vocal inputs capable of adapting in real time to the context of the user.

Thanks to this evolution, All users can ask questions directly about what you see through the camera or on your screentaking advantage of the visual sharing mode powered by Astra technology; After opening live Gemini in full screen, the user can in fact start the video camera by touching the new button located on the left: from here it will also be possible to move on to the front objective, via the appropriate button in the lower right corner. The interface will show a viewfinder, useful for correctly framing the object of interest.

It is good to underline that, to ensure optimal elaboration, Gemini recommends keeping the display active and slowly moving the shot, so that the system can correctly acquire visual data.

As for the sharing of the screen, the procedure is equally immediate: simply start the overlay of Gemini and touch the new chip “Share screen with live“; Once the operation is confirmed, a small count will appear next to the time in the status bar, accompanied by a light vibration that precedes Gemini’s response, thus reporting the beginning of the interaction in a fair but effective way.

For example, the user can scroll an app, a website or any screen content, continuing to dialogue with Gemini without interruptions. Everything is made even more fluid by the phone notification for the phone session style, and by the possibility of interrupting sharing at any time simply by lowering the notification curtain and selecting the appropriate item.

The novelty in question adds to the possibility of interacting with live Gemini through images, pdfs, YouTube videos, highlighting a further step towards the universal and contextual assistant that Google imagines for the future; The fact that these features become now free and accessible to everyone, underlines the desire to accelerate the spread of Gemini 2.5 Pro and to make the integration between artificial intelligence and Android more and more widespread.

So we just have to patient a few more weeks to receive the update, which will be distributed progressively and on a global scale.