What you need to know
- Google announced its September Gemini Drop today (Sep 19), highlighting updates like Gemini Live, which can now use your camera for visual aid.
- The post also highlights its Nano Banana image editor inside the Gemini app, which rolled out recently, and has reportedly generated over 10 million new users.
- Gemini’s custom AI Gems are now shareable between parties, and its presence in Canvas helps users create apps without extensive coding knowledge.
It’s September, which means Google is detailing everything new users can expect—or soon expect—from its AI model throughout the month.
Google detailed its September Gemini Drop this morning (Sep 19), which surges ahead with its AI’s capabilities for daily aid and fun, creative moments. Starting with the former, Gemini Live is now capable of using your camera to peer into the real world for assistance. This is a feature the AI had previously, but Google’s recent updates have expanded on that exponentially, empowering it with more expression and helping it to become more “visually aware.”
If you’re asking a question with Gemini Live using your camera, the post states the AI will highlight what “you should focus on” to guide you further. Not every Android and iOS device sports this visual assistance through Gemini Live, but Google says that’s “coming soon.”
For the fun times, Nano Banana has been making headlines in September. The powerful image editor within the Gemini app, which leverages Google’s DeepMind, lets users get extremely whacky with their ideas, and let Gemini do the rest. There are several “use cases” that have stood out this month, such as turning a photo of a cat into a pixel-world video game.
Custom Gems you’ve created through Gemini can now be shared, as well as using the AI in Canvas to create an app “with no coding experience.” Google also highlights a major update headed for Chrome. This update, dubbed “Gemini in Chrome,” is said to improve the user browsing experience with in-browser summaries, AI Overviews, and more.
Gemini’s dropping in the upgrades
As far as the Nano Banana update goes, Google was celebrating earlier this month as the image editor drove in over 10 million new users to the Gemini app. The company’s vice president, Josh Woodward, was on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting the image editor’s quick achievements following its August launch. Nano Banana (the editor’s nickname) has reportedly edited over 200 million photos, with users turning themselves into figurines, ranking high among the prompts.
The image editor’s introduction lets users blend images, mix up designs, and more.
Google’s August Gemini drop was all about the learning experience that the company’s AI can provide users. “Guided Learning” walks students through difficult school topics, such as math and science, offering illustrations and more to help them reach the right answer. There’s also the storybook update that lets parents turn photos of their kids into an entire custom story, perfect for bedtime.
