Google is rolling out three useful features to Android at no cost, and one of them meaningfully upgrades how you listen. The bundle spans smarter typing in Gboard, a more creative Emoji Kitchen, and new audio sharing that taps modern Bluetooth tech—all arriving via app and services updates, not a full operating system refresh.
Smarter writing tools in Gboard, processed on-device
The standout quality-of-life improvement lands in Gboard: an AI-assisted writing helper that can refine tone, tighten wording, and fix grammar without sending your text to the cloud. The tool surfaces as a compact panel above the keyboard, offering options like formal, expressive, or concise, along with quick corrections when you just need a touch-up.
Because processing happens on-device, your drafts don’t leave the phone, a privacy-forward design Google has been emphasizing in its mobile AI stack. In practical terms, that means you can polish a marketplace listing to sound more professional, soften a chat reply, or streamline a work message in any app where the keyboard appears—no copy-paste gymnastics required.
Scale matters here: Gboard’s Play Store listing counts in the billions of installs, so even small efficiency gains cascade across an enormous user base. For people who type a lot on the go, the friction this removes is instantly noticeable.
Emoji Kitchen gets a creative refresh
Emoji Kitchen, the playful feature that lets you blend two emojis into a custom sticker, is getting a bigger canvas. A revamped browse experience makes it easier to discover combinations, and Google is adding more remixable pairs. The result: quicker access to clever mash-ups—think a sneaker with butterfly wings or a coffee mug wearing sunglasses—without hunting through menus.
Why it matters: people gravitate toward visual nuance. Adobe’s Emoji Trend Report has found that a strong majority of users say emojis make conversations more friendly and efficient, and that they help convey tone that plain text can’t. The expanded Emoji Kitchen leans into that behavior, giving you lightweight, personal expression with a couple of taps.
Audio sharing arrives with LE Audio support
The most intriguing upgrade is audio sharing for Bluetooth LE headphones—letting two people listen from one phone at the same time. It’s ideal for flights, workouts, or late-night streaming, and it’s powered by the LE Audio standard and the LC3 codec that the Bluetooth SIG has been championing.
LE Audio isn’t just a new checkbox. LC3 is designed to deliver better perceived quality than legacy SBC at lower bitrates, which translates into improved efficiency and battery life. Multi-stream capabilities also help stabilize connections to each earbud and reduce audio drift when two pairs are joined. In everyday use, that means fewer dropouts and more reliable lip-sync when watching video together.
There is one caveat: both your phone and earbuds need to support LE Audio. Many recent Android flagships do—devices built on Bluetooth 5.2+ and running modern Android builds—and earbud lines like Pixel Buds Pro and Galaxy Buds2 Pro have firmware that enables LE Audio features. To check, look in Bluetooth settings for an LE Audio or LC3 indicator, and update your earbuds’ companion app firmware if available.
Bonus polish: Quick Share gets easier
Alongside the headline trio, Quick Share—the system for moving files and links between nearby Android phones, Chromebooks, and Windows PCs—has a cleaner layout. You can now toggle send/receive more clearly and see transfer progress at a glance, which reduces the “did that send?” guesswork. It’s a small, sensible UI fix that speeds up the moments you actually notice.
How to get the features
These capabilities are rolling out through a mix of Google Play services, Gboard updates, and server-side switches, so you won’t need a full system upgrade. To nudge things along, update Gboard and Google Play services, install any available Play system updates in Settings, and reboot. Emoji Kitchen updates typically surface automatically in the keyboard; audio sharing options appear under Bluetooth or Connected devices once compatible gear is paired.
Android’s global footprint—well over two-thirds of the smartphone market by most analyst estimates—means incremental improvements land at massive scale. This round is a great example: smarter text, richer expression, and more flexible listening, all free, all instantly useful. If you haven’t spotted the changes yet, they should appear soon as your apps refresh.