Google Launches Gemini Task Automation Across More Than 40 Mobile Apps
Google has moved Gemini Task Automation out of beta and into general availability, expanding AI-driven task execution across more than 40 third-party apps, timed to Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event.
Google has begun rolling out Gemini Task Automation to the general public, ending a limited beta phase and pushing the agentic feature into broader use. The launch landed alongside Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event, where the company revealed its latest foldable smartphones, signaling a coordinated push to embed mobile AI agents more deeply into flagship hardware.
As reported by The Verge, the updated feature extends Gemini's reach to more than 40 third-party mobile applications. During beta, access was limited to a smaller set of platforms, including Uber and DoorDash.
The system works by interpreting user prompts, navigating app interfaces, and executing multi-step workflows without requiring the user to switch manually between applications. The goal is to move Gemini from a conversational assistant into something closer to an active agent that completes tasks on a user's behalf.
Samsung has been Google's primary hardware partner for this rollout, with Gemini tools built directly into its premium devices. Tying the launch to a new foldable lineup shows how major phone manufacturers are using AI software capabilities to support premium pricing in a smartphone market that has otherwise plateaued on hardware innovation alone.
The Cognarah Angle
Android commands more than 80 percent market share across Africa, so any significant update to Google's mobile ecosystem matters here. But the way Google has structured this launch reveals a familiar tension. Tying the debut of Gemini Task Automation to foldable smartphones puts the feature behind a price wall that most African consumers simply cannot clear. The majority of Android users on the continent use budget or mid-range devices, and it is not yet clear whether those phones will support the background processing that smooth AI task automation requires.
There is a second, equally sharp problem: local app coverage. The utility of any task automation feature depends entirely on which apps it can actually control. Uber is present in several African cities, but a large share of everyday commercial activity across the continent runs on regional platforms. Fintech users rely on Moniepoint, Flutterwave, and M-Pesa. Delivery and logistics happen through Chowdeck, SafeBoda, and a long tail of city-specific services. If the initial list of 40 integrated apps skews toward Western platforms, Gemini Task Automation will be a headline feature that most African users cannot meaningfully use.
The fix is structural. Google needs to open its developer framework to African software engineers with standardized APIs that allow locally built apps to become natively controllable by AI agents. Top-down partnerships with global platforms are not enough. Without accessible integration standards, regional startups will find themselves locked out of the AI agent layer just as it begins to shape how users interact with their phones. That is not a minor inconvenience; it is a competitive disadvantage baked into the infrastructure from the start.
The pointed question here is worth sitting with: is device-level task automation designed to give users more control, or to give Google and its hardware partners more control over which apps users reach for first?
If Google is serious about serving emerging markets, it should release an open integration framework for local developers before the default list of supported apps becomes the default list of apps people use.
Reporting sourced from The Verge. Analysis and Cognarah Angle are Cognarah's own.
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