News

Everything Announced At The Android Show: I/O Edition

Android 16 updates, Gemini’s broader rollout, a Material 3 overhaul, and new privacy tools have been revealed ahead of the upcoming Google I/O event.

Published

1 year ago

May 15, 2025

Joanna Melki

everything announced at the android show io edition

Google

A week before its annual I/O conference, Google gave developers and Android fans a sneak peek at the future of its mobile ecosystem at The Android Show: I/O Edition. The event covered updates across Android 16, Wear OS, Google TV, and Android Auto, with a heavy focus on design, AI integration, and privacy.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s new:

Material 3 Expressive Makes Android More Playful

Android is getting a visual refresh with Material 3 Expressive, an evolution of Google’s design language that arrives with the Android 16 beta in June 2025 on select devices. The update introduces richer animations, dynamic typography, and more vibrant colors. The goal is to make Android feel more intuitive — and more appealing to younger users.

This design shift will show up in Android 16 and Wear OS 6, making both platforms feel more personalized and fun. On phones, users will also gain more flexibility with Quick Settings customization and home screen app grid enhancements.

Gemini Expands Across Google’s Platforms

Google’s Gemini AI assistant is expanding from Android and iOS into more Google-owned platforms, including:

Wear OS (smartwatches)
Google TV
Android Auto
Google’s new Android XR (mixed reality) platform

Gemini takes over all the core tasks once handled by Google Assistant — like setting reminders or timers — but adds multimodal capabilities and more natural conversation. For example, in Android Auto, Gemini Live allows real-time, open-ended conversations while you drive.

On Google TV, Gemini will recommend shows based on genre or viewer preferences, and even answer actor-specific questions. More details on the XR platform are expected at Google I/O on May 20.

Android 16 Brings Security Upgrades And The New Find Hub

Security continues to be a major focus with Android 16. Notable updates include:

Smarter AI-based spam detection, expanding to cover new scam types like toll road fraud.
A Key Verifier tool for securely exchanging encryption keys during calls.
The ability to grant accessibility permissions during calls with unknown contacts, improving safety and inclusivity.

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For device tracking, Google is evolving the Find My Device service into the new Find Hub. This tool supports ultra-wideband (UWB) for precise location data and even allows devices to ping satellites when out of cell range.

While full details on Gemini’s XR ambitions and the next-gen Android hardware are reserved for I/O next week, The Android Show provided a useful preview of how Google is merging AI, design, and security to further refine its popular ecosystem.

News

Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

Egypt’s telecom regulator says $57.6 billion moved through more than 57 million wallets in six months. And one operator handled 77% of the value.

Published

4 days ago

September 12, 2026

Nour Nasir

egypt's mobile wallets are booming but cash still has power

Egypt’s mobile wallets handled EGP 2.96 trillion ($57.6 billion) in transactions in the first half of 2026, according to the National Telecom Regulatory Authority – a 56% rise on the EGP 1.90 trillion ($36.9 billion) recorded a year earlier. Transactions grew faster still, up 62% to 2.22 billion, while registered wallets climbed 23% to 57.01 million.

On one reading, that is exactly what Egypt’s regulators have been pushing for: a payments system that runs through telecom-linked wallets rather than banknotes. But the same data shows how far cash still reaches into it. Cash withdrawals made up just 12% of the transactions taking money out of wallets, yet 75% of the value withdrawn or spent.

Money arrives mostly from bank accounts: transfers through InstaPay accounted for 78% of deposit transactions and 58% of the value deposited, while incoming remittances from abroad made up 3% of deposit transactions but 10% of their value. Once inside, it largely moves between wallets – wallet-to-wallet transfers accounted for 54% of all transactions and 67% of total value, with mobile and internet top-ups a distant second at 25% of volume. In effect, the wallet is serving as a transfer layer: the place money passes through between the bank account and the banknote.

That layer also runs predominantly through one operator. Vodafone Cash held 53% of registered wallets and 57% of active ones, but handled 69% of transactions and 77% of their value. Its nearest rival, e& money, held 23% of registered wallets but 14% of transaction value; Orange Cash 20% and 8%; WE Pay 4% of wallets. How many of the 57.01 million are active is not stated.

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Adoption is rather uneven in other respects. Men held 38 million wallets, or 67% of the total, against 19 million held by women. Users aged 26 to 45 accounted for half of all wallets, and Cairo alone had 10.6 million, or 19% of the national total, with Giza next at 6.5 million.

The NTRA says it is continuing to work with telecom operators on the regulatory framework for wallet services, part of a wider effort to expand electronic payments and financial inclusion. Its own figures show that effort succeeding on the way in. On the way out, three-quarters of the value still leaves as cash.