Contrary to popular belief, our phones can increase the amount of books we read. While there’s nothing quite like a well-worn paperback stuffed into your bag, e-readers and e-books are far more accessible.
If you take advantage of all the ways to read books on your phone, digital books can replace doomscrolling and mobile games.
Out of all the reading apps I use, Google Play Books is my go-to. I like how easy it is to find sales on new books, and that I can upload my own ePUB or PDFs to read later.
However, the app isn’t perfect, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting a refresh from Google. But when Google finally got around to working on the app, it was only to add new Gemini features.
Nobody told me about these 4 Google Play features — now they’re non-negotiable
I can’t live without them now
A Play Books update is right around the corner
But it’s not what we need
In December 2025, Android Authority discovered references to Gemini in an APK teardown of the latest version of Play Books. These code strings added an “Ask Gemini” button to the drop-down menu that appears when you highlight text in the app.
It’s unclear exactly what purpose it serves, since the built-in translation and definition tools provide most of the context we miss. Still, the implications go beyond the usual discussions about AI in our apps.
If you’ve read Game of Thrones, you first have to understand the massive number of characters introduced in the first few chapters.
I remember reading the first book once to understand who everyone was, then again to follow the plot. But forgetting fictional characters and place names is common across books, so that I can understand the use of an AI Assistant here.
An “Ask Gemini” button in the app could provide me with the context I need and save me from switching apps to search for the character. But where would Gemini stop?
If I ask Gemini, “Who is Harry Potter?” the app gives me a detailed summary of his backstory, character traits, and key relationships. However, the summary also contains numerous spoilers that would ruin the narrative for anyone who had just started reading the books.
An “Ask Gemini” feature could inadvertently ruin stories when all we wanted was a recap of their journey up to our point in the story.
With careful implementation and safeguards, Gemini could theoretically be a valuable assistant in Play Books. But it isn’t necessary.
When Play Books lacks other crucial features, Google needs to focus on the app’s weaknesses before adding Gemini integration.
Play Books needs a feature update
It’s seriously lacking compared to other apps
While I’ve settled on Play Books as my app of choice, it often feels like the Spotify of e-reader apps. Recommendations and suggestions take priority over my library, and customization features are sorely lacking.
Moon+ Reader and ReadEra are third-party e-reader apps that offer significantly more features without the bloat. Google doesn’t need to copy them directly, but it should adopt these features to bring Play Books to the same level.
Seamless uploading of new books
One of my biggest gripes about Play Books is how I add my own files to its library. Unlike its competitors, Play Books can’t search your device for new files, so you have to add titles one at a time manually.
On top of this frustration, I’ve had a recurring issue where uploaded books won’t appear until I reset the app.
Better support for other file types
Google Play Books supports PDF and ePUB files, but doesn’t support other common file types like DOCX, MOBI, or TXT.
Other apps like Moon+Reader Pro and ReadEra function as excellent document readers on top of e-book readers, which helps when you want the controls of an e-reader for a document.
Display options for books
One of my favorite elements of the Moon+ Reader app is how it displays your books on a virtual bookshelf. It’s a touch of realism that goes a long way, and is far better than the suggestion-filled homepage of Play Books.
Allowing us to choose how we display our books would be far better than the flat grid the app currently uses.
Increased text customization
When it comes to the words on the page, Play Books is severely lacking in customization tools. You can adjust the brightness and font size, but that’s about it.
Allowing us to adjust settings such as line width, font, margin size, background color, and font color would accommodate readers of all kinds.
Gemini has its uses, but Play Books needs feature parity first
Personalized book recommendations, text-to-speech narration, character summaries. These are all potential uses for Gemini in Play Books.
But when the app is so lacking in features compared to third-party options, I find it disappointing that Google is focusing on AI (disappointed, but not surprised).
Perhaps I’ll ditch Play Books entirely and switch to a storefront where I’ll actually own my e-books.
