Google is rolling out a significant update to its Gemini AI, bringing powerful new video analysis capabilities directly to the Google app on Android devices. This highly anticipated feature allows users to upload videos and get AI-powered insights and summaries, saving valuable time and unlocking new ways to interact with multimedia content. Similar to capabilities seen in other advanced AI assistants, this enhances Gemini’s multimodal understanding directly on your phone.
Analyzing Videos Directly in the Google App
Revealed through recent APK teardowns of Google app version 16.23.69, the core of this new functionality is the ability to upload videos from your phone’s gallery or files directly into the Gemini chat interface. Users can access this by tapping the ‘+’ button next to the text input area within the Gemini assistant.
Currently, there’s a limitation on video length: videos uploaded for analysis can have a combined runtime of up to five minutes per prompt. This means you can upload a single video up to five minutes long, or multiple shorter videos totaling no more than five minutes. The feature is on a gradual rollout, so it may not be immediately available to all users. You can check if it’s enabled for you by tapping the ‘+’ button and seeing if video files are selectable from your gallery or files.
Once uploaded, Gemini analyzes the video content to provide summaries, highlight key points, or answer questions about what’s happening within the video.
Benefits for Users
This direct video upload offers a handy new way to quickly understand video content without needing to watch the entire clip. It’s especially beneficial for videos recorded or received on your phone.
Think of students needing to quickly review recorded lectures or demonstrations, or professionals wanting to grasp the essentials of a meeting recording, tutorial, or equipment demo without sitting through the full duration. Gemini’s ability to process these potentially lengthy videos and provide concise, relevant points can significantly boost efficiency and productivity. It transforms the time-consuming task of video review into a faster, more accessible process.
What’s Next for Gemini Video Analysis
While the current feature focuses on analyzing existing video files, APK teardowns also suggest exciting future developments. Google appears to be working on integrating direct video recording capabilities within the Gemini in-app camera interface. This could allow users to capture a video on the spot using the camera icon and immediately send it to Gemini for analysis, offering even more seamless multimedia interaction.
Additionally, there’s an expectation that the five-minute time limit for video analysis might be increased or potentially removed in future updates as the feature matures and becomes more widely available. The long-term potential could even include analyzing live video feeds.
Gemini Video Analysis in Google Drive
It’s important to note that video analysis capabilities are also expanding in other parts of the Google ecosystem. Google is enabling Gemini to analyze videos stored within Google Drive via the web interface. This feature, accessible to users with eligible subscriptions (like Google One AI Premium or specific Google Workspace plans), allows users to get summaries, ask questions, and extract information from videos already saved in their cloud storage.
Accessed through an “Ask Gemini” button or icon when viewing a video in Drive, this provides a side panel chat for interaction and often includes suggested prompts like “Outline the key takeaways” or “List action items.” However, the Drive video analysis currently has a key limitation: it only works for videos that are in English and have captions enabled.
The expansion of Gemini’s video analysis capabilities, both within the core Google app on Android for quick mobile analysis and in Google Drive for stored content, marks a significant step towards making multimedia content more accessible and searchable through AI. As Google continues to integrate Gemini across its services, users can look forward to even more powerful ways to interact with their data, including challenging video content.
