Gemini for Android rolls out side panel and settings redesign

The most immediate change users will notice upon opening the updated Android application is the restructured navigation drawer. Google has repositioned the search function to the top-right corner of the side panel, placing it within quick reach for individuals looking to scour their chat history. Meanwhile, the primary entry point at the top of the list remains the "New chat" option, but it is now immediately followed by the "Library" shortcut rather than being buried near the bottom of the interface as seen in previous iterations.

To combat the visual clutter that often plagues feature-rich applications, Google has streamlined how recent conversations and secondary tools are displayed. The side panel now intentionally limits the presentation to five initial items before tucking the rest away behind a "More" button. Tapping this expansion option reveals the full breadth of available features, a layout that varies slightly depending on a user’s subscription tier. For subscribers utilizing an AI Ultra membership, the comprehensive list encompasses New chat, Library, Images, Scheduled, Daily brief, Customize, Students, Videos, and Gems, providing a tailored balance between immediate accessibility and a clean, minimalist design aesthetic.

Parallel to the navigation drawer revamp, the Gemini app has completely restructured how users manage their application preferences and account options. In older versions of the software, user preferences were awkwardly fragmented, split between the primary account menu and a dedicated "Gemini Settings" section. Google has effectively resolved this friction by consolidating all configuration options into a single, cohesive settings page.

Under the new architecture, the account menu has been stripped down to its core utility, now serving exclusively as a portal for switching between different Google accounts, submitting user feedback, or accessing help resources. The newly unified "Settings" page opens with critical system information, prominently featuring options to manage the user account and monitor usage limits.

Beneath the overarching preferences category, the reorganized settings page houses an extensive suite of configurable options. Users can now seamlessly navigate through settings for notifications, personal intelligence features, avatars, task management, theme selection—which introduces a brand-new appearance control—skills, voice output, media handling, device controls, cart and orders integrations, and the Gemini Notebook environment. This sweeping consolidation reflects a broader industry push toward simplifying complex AI platforms, ensuring that users can adjust their digital assistant’s behavior without hunting through multiple nested menus.

These mobile refinements are rolling out via a server-side update, meaning they are appearing natively for Android users following their initial deployment last week to Apple platforms and web browsers alongside Gemini 4 Argon. As Google continues to iterate on its flagship generative AI interface, these structural adjustments signal a concerted effort to make deeply integrated artificial intelligence tools feel more intuitive, responsive, and organized across every screen where users interact with Gemini.