Google I/O 2025: Android Expands AI, Cross-Device Reach, and Monetization Tools

At Google I/O 2025, Android rolled out a wide range of updates that mark a significant expansion in AI capabilities, cross-device app experiences, and monetization tools for developers. Here’s a breakdown of the most notable developments impacting mobile developers, especially those focused on user engagement, platform reach, and in-app revenue.

Google is embedding generative AI into the Android development stack through new ML Kit GenAI APIs powered by Gemini Nano. These APIs support on-device tasks like text summarization and image descriptions. Developers targeting more complex scenarios, such as multimodal data processing or image generation, can now use Firebase AI Logic with access to Gemini Pro, Gemini Flash, and Imagen. These tools are designed to function across mobile and XR experiences, signaling a broader push for AI-powered personalization and automation within apps.

With Android apps now expected to run across phones, tablets, foldables, ChromeOS, cars, XR devices, and connected displays, the emphasis is on “adaptive” development. Developers are encouraged to build once and deploy across a device ecosystem that spans 500 million screens. Tools such as the Compose Layouts library and Jetpack Navigation updates aim to simplify this approach. In support, new use cases such as NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service showcase how content delivery is being adapted for multiple environments.

Material 3 Expressive introduces UI changes that emphasize emotional engagement and clearer user guidance. These updates, now extended to Wear OS 6 and coming soon to more platforms, align with a broader visual design overhaul. At the same time, widget engagement and discoverability receive a boost through Glance 1.2 and a new Promoted Live Updates system, which delivers persistent notifications via standardized templates.

Media experiences are getting an upgrade with low-light image enhancement and PCM offload for audio, helping improve battery efficiency. In automotive, developers can now access new APIs for media, games, and communications, with testing tools coming to Android Automotive OS on Pixel Tablet and Firebase Test Lab. This makes it easier to bring custom in-car experiences to market.

Developer Preview 2 of the Android XR SDK is live, expanding Google’s spatial computing ambitions. New hardware partners like XREAL and Samsung (Project Moohan) are onboard, indicating a growing XR ecosystem. Meanwhile, Wear OS 6 introduces Material 3 design elements to wearables, supported by new Jetpack libraries to enhance both apps and tiles with expressive design elements.

Compose for TV is now stable, allowing developers to create responsive UIs tailored to large screens. Google is also integrating Gemini AI capabilities into TV platforms later this year and launching a Video Discovery API to improve content engagement. These changes suggest a continued effort to make Android TV more relevant in the content streaming space.

Jetpack Compose continues to be Google’s primary UI toolkit, with the latest BOM release aimed at speeding up UI creation. Kotlin Multiplatform now includes a new shared module template in Android Studio, alongside updated Jetpack libraries and migration codelabs, making it easier to share logic across Android and iOS. Additionally, Gemini in Android Studio now supports features like Image to Code, version upgrade guidance, and agentic workflows, pointing to deeper AI integration throughout the development lifecycle.

Google Play’s latest updates center on discoverability and user retention. Personalized app recommendations, expanded content display options, and enhanced subscription tools aim to help developers increase conversions and reduce churn. Meanwhile, Play Games Services v2 is rolling out with streamlined integration and upgraded features, designed to maintain engagement across devices.

Android 16 introduces a host of under-the-hood and user-facing improvements, including live updates, advanced media and camera capabilities, desktop windowing, and accessibility features. Developers are encouraged to test their apps against the latest beta to ensure compatibility.