5 new features coming to your phone with the September 2026 Android Drop - Android Authority
Just a day in September, Google has now announced the September 2026 Android Drop, bringing a bunch of new features across Google apps. Google is including the feature in the September 2026 Android Drop, but it already began rolling out last week. While Google is including the feature in the September 2026 Android Drop, it already began rolling out last month to Android 17 devices.
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Just a day in September, Google has now announced the September 2026 Android Drop, bringing a bunch of new features across Google apps. A couple of these newly announced features have already rolled out to users in August, but Google is including them in the September 2026 Android Drop regardless.
Google says that users on Android 16 and above devices will soon be able to ask Gemini to remember where they placed important items. Gemini will save the location for these items in Find Hub, so you can easily locate them later.
This will be useful for items that you don’t put a tracker tag on. For instance, you can issue a command to Gemini like, “Hey Google, remember in Find Hub that I put my passport in my bedroom drawer,” and Gemini will save this in Find Hub, with an option to add a photo too. You can then check the location of all your remembered items in the Find Hub tab, or you can ask Gemini to tell you the location.
This feature will be available in countries where both Gemini and Find Hub are supported.
Google is building on Google Messages’ RCS capabilities by integrating Google Keep’s notes and lists right within the Messages app. Starting today, users can hit the “+” Plus icon in Google Messages to add Google Keep to their conversations. Once done, you can share and update grocery lists or vacation notes right inside your chats, making it easier than ever to collaborate.
Google launched Visual Guidance with Gemini Live alongside the Pixel 10 series. When you share your camera feed, Gemini Live could highlight objects by placing a white dot on them or by overlaying a rectangle or square around them, while dimming everything else in view.
Google is taking some of the ideas behind this feature and expanding them across the rest of the Android ecosystem with Gemini Live’s Guided Vision. We’ve spotted the feature in the works before, including its Accessibility shortcut, and we now have a much clearer picture of what’s in front of us, pun not intended.
With Guided Vision, you can share your camera with Gemini Live to hear descriptions of what is in front of you. This becomes helpful in situations such as reading the fine print on a food label, ordering from a menu in a dimly lit restaurant, or locating household objects. If your camera isn’t lined up, voice feedback will guide you to reframe, pan across a space, or center an object so you get the answers you need.
Users will be able to add Guided Vision to their Accessibility shortcuts or launch it directly from the TalkBack menu. Guided Vision through Gemini Live will be coming soon to phones running Android 9 and above in countries where Gemini is available.
Perhaps the most easily noticeable feature in the list, and a fan favorite too, Google is finally officially announcing support for Chat Themes in Google Messages.
Google is including the feature in the September 2026 Android Drop, but it already began rolling out last week. Users can set up Chat Themes in the app to customize the look of their conversation.
For instance, you can pick a wallpaper (or a photo), and the text bubbles will automatically match. You can also set your own colors, so each of your chats can have a personal touch.
Motion Assist is a new feature that is designed to reduce motion sickness by displaying motion cues on the screen while you’re in a moving vehicle. The motion cues take the form of a bubble-like overlay that moves in the direction of your vehicle, helping bridge the gap between what your eyes see and the movement of your ride.
While Google is including the feature in the September 2026 Android Drop, it already began rolling out last month to Android 17 devices. Google doesn’t say the feature is restricted to Pixels, and since it is included in the Android Drop, you can expect it to reach the wider Android ecosystem too, as long as you are on Android 17.
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