Google Could Take Inspiration From ChatGPT For Gemini’s Next Feature (APK Teardown)
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is developing a new “Canvas” feature in Gemini to assist with writing and coding.
- Gemini Canvas could have been inspired by ChatGPT Canvas, which has similar writing and coding functions on desktop.
- Unlike ChatGPT’s currently desktop-only version, Google could bring this functionality first to smartphones via Gemini.
Google has been hard at work building Gemini to be the ultimate AI digital assistant you can use on your Android phone. While features like Gemini extensions are unique and tap into how we use our phones, Google is also exploring features other assistants have gotten right. Google now seems to be looking at one of ChatGPT’s recent feature additions for inspiration, and it could allow Gemini to help you write and code better.
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An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
Google app v16.7.21 beta is renaming the previously spotted Composer option to Canvas. Composer/Canvas will let you “write docs and code” as per the strings we previously spotted, which doesn’t tell us a whole lot about its functionality.
We managed to activate the renamed Canvas feature for a quick demo. When the Canvas option is selected, Gemini will add a Canvas text to the input box.
We couldn’t get the feature to work beyond this, though.
So, what could Canvas within Gemini really be? For that, we have to look elsewhere, namely at competitor ChatGPT‘s Canvas feature.
ChatGPT introduced Canvas last year as a new way to “write and code” within the AI tool (sounds familiar?). Canvas opens in a separate window, allowing you and ChatGPT to collaborate on a project.
With Canvas, ChatGPT can better understand the context of what you’re trying to accomplish. You can highlight specific sections to indicate exactly what you want ChatGPT to focus on. Like a copy editor or code reviewer, it can give inline feedback and suggestions with the entire project in mind.
Thus, if we are allowed to speculate, it wouldn’t be too wrong to guess that Google is looking at ChatGPT’s Canvas feature for inspiration for Gemini’s Canvas/Composer feature that lets you write and code. We expect to see a similar collaborative UI for longer tasks requiring continuous assistance and feedback instead of smaller, singular tasks that the chat UX can already accomplish.
ChatGPT’s Canvas feature is already available on desktops, but a mobile version is expected to arrive in the future. As such, Gemini could theoretically beat ChatGPT to the punch by bringing this feature to mobile users first.
We don’t know when Google will launch Canvas, as the feature is still under active development. It could also change form as it gets closer to completion. We’ll keep you updated when we learn more.
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