Galaxy Z Fold 8 Gemini Task Automation Expands to 40-Plus Apps

What happened

At Galaxy Unpacked in London on July 22, Samsung and Google gave the Galaxy Z Fold 8 family two AI features. One sends errands off to Gemini. The other is a research workspace built around the foldable's large inner screen. The first is Gemini's task automation, which now works with more than 40 apps on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8. The second is Gemini Notebook, the renamed NotebookLM, which comes preinstalled on all three phones.41 Google calls this package the first wave of "Gemini Intelligence," its term for software that does work on a user's behalf instead of just answering questions.4

The phones are no longer new. U.S. pre-orders opened on launch day and general availability followed on August 7, with prices starting at $2,099.99 for the Fold 8 Ultra, $1,899.99 for the Fold 8 and $1,199.99 for the Flip 8.9 Still, the software story has aged in a revealing way. In the months since launch, Google has pushed the same agent model into Chrome and into Gemini's own app. That makes the foldables look less like a one-off showcase and more like an early test of how Google wants Android to work.

Automated tasks: from six apps to forty

Task automation is not new, but its scope is. Google first released it as a beta in February. At that point it handled simple jobs like booking a rideshare or ordering takeout.4 One report says the beta covered only six rideshare and delivery apps and ran only on the Pixel 10 and Galaxy S26 series. Under that account, the Unpacked expansion was the feature's first broad release and its first time on a foldable.2

The expanded version covers shopping, restaurant reservations, travel bookings and event tickets.7 Etsy and Expedia are among the named retailers.2 There are also changes to how you start a task. Gemini can now read what is on your screen, and it can treat a complex image, such as a shopping list or an inspiration photo, as the instruction itself.410 On the Flip 8, a long press of the power button starts a task from the outer Flex Window.98

The most important design choice is how the handoff works. Users can follow each step as it happens, switch to other apps, or close the phone and let Gemini keep going in the background. They can also take over to fix one detail and then hand control back. Gemini is built to stop and ask for review and final confirmation before it finishes.4 Reports agree closely on this flow, mostly because they all draw on the same Google material.7810

Some of the work happens on the phone itself. Google told developers the three foldables are the first Galaxy phones to run Gemini Nano 4, its newest on-device model. Google says it is up to four times faster and uses up to 60% less battery than its predecessor. It also says Nano 4 supports agentic features like booking tickets and ordering coffee.6

Gemini Notebook: synthesis on a bigger screen

If task automation is about handing work off, Gemini Notebook is about pulling material together. Google renamed NotebookLM on July 16, less than a week before Unpacked. The relaunch added a secure cloud computer for each notebook so it can run code natively for data analysis.23 On the Fold 8's inner display, users can drag photos, documents, whiteboard images and voice recordings into a side-by-side workspace. They can then ask questions about those sources or turn them into slide decks, videos, flash cards, quizzes or podcast-style audio.410 Google devices chief Rick Osterloh described it as a way to connect the dots across a user's web pages, videos and notes.2

The foldable fit is real. Reading documents and juggling several sources at once benefits from more screen space, which suits a book-style foldable better than a regular phone.3 The product's background also matters. In April, Google added notebooks to the Gemini app that sync both ways with NotebookLM, so a source added in one appears in the other.2126 At launch, that feature ran only on the web, for paying subscribers.28 A preinstalled app on a premium phone is a big step from that starting point.

The subscription hook

Both features come with a commercial push. The new foldables include a six-month Google AI Pro trial. Samsung values the plan at $19.99 a month and notes it includes 5 TB of cloud storage.9 The paid tier unlocks Audio Overviews, Video Overviews and Slides in Gemini Notebook.7 One analysis calls the bundle a direct route into Google's premium AI tier, built into the phone purchase.7 That reading is hard to argue with. Six months is enough time for habits to form, and the trial's end will show whether owners value these tools enough to pay for them.

Google's own help pages make the stakes clearer. Gemini Spark, the company's general-purpose personal agent, requires an AI Pro or Ultra subscription. If the subscription lapses, Spark's scheduled tasks pause.12 Spark can also use Gemini Notebook as a connected source.12 In my reading, the trial is less a perk than a way to get owners into a paid ecosystem where the agent and the research tool increasingly feed into each other.

The browser angle

For a site that tracks AI browsers, the interesting thread is how the phone agent relates to Chrome. When Google introduced Gemini Intelligence at I/O 2026, coverage said Chrome on Android would get a Gemini feature similar to desktop Chrome's Auto Browse, along with an autofill upgrade that pulls details from connected Google apps.1115 Earlier coverage of Android 17 also suggested the cross-app agent would work inside Chrome on phones.18

The reporting and Google's documentation don't fully match here. Google's current Spark help page says Spark can do web-based tasks like shopping, travel booking and dinner reservations through Chrome auto browse. It also says that, for now, only Spark in desktop Chrome can use auto browse. Otherwise Spark may fall back to a remote browser running in the cloud.12 Google says Spark asks for confirmation before every task that involves browsing. It also may ask the user to "take control" when passwords or payment details are needed, a safeguard it partly frames as protection against prompt injection.12

The best reading is that Google is building two paths to the same result. On the Fold 8, Gemini works inside native apps. In Chrome, it works across websites. Both share a model of visible progress, the option to step in, and confirmation at the end. App-based automation reached the foldables first because Google controls the integration with each supported app. Browser-based agents have to deal with the open, messier web. What the reporting does not settle is whether the Fold 8's 40-app list will eventually merge with Chrome's browsing agent, or stay a separate, curated set of integrations.

Where the coverage diverges

Reporters largely agree on what launched. They split on how far it reaches. Android Authority reported that task automation is limited to the U.S. and Korea for now, a restriction most launch-day stories left out.3 PhoneArena expected Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 owners to get most of these features through the One UI 9 update.1 Digital Trends highlighted that the Galaxy phones got these Gemini upgrades before Google's own Pixel devices.5 Coverage also differs slightly on who gets the AI Pro trial. Some stories say all three models, others mention only Fold 8 and Flip 8 buyers.73

Samsung's own layer gets less attention but matters for trust. One UI 9 adds an AI Assistant Activity dashboard that shows every automation running on the user's behalf, plus privacy alerts when apps request permissions.1 PhoneArena's take was that it would rather see Gemini finish an errand correctly than add another flashy demo.1 Tech My Money advised watching how often Gemini asks for confirmation before it spends money.9

Why it matters

The broader context is that Gemini is no longer optional on Android. Google began removing Google Assistant from eligible phones on September 4, and the rollback option is going away with it.17 One analysis argues that reliability is now the test. Every failed timer or misrouted request reflects on Gemini, because there is no older assistant to compare it against or fall back to.17

That raises the bar for the Fold 8's automation. Booking a table or buying tickets has real consequences, so mistakes are costly. My view is that the foldables are the right place for this test. A larger screen makes it easier to watch the agent work, step in, and check its results before confirming. Gemini Notebook helps users understand their material, and task automation lets them hand off chores. Pairing the two shows a clear direction for Google's mobile AI. Whether it works will depend less on how many apps Gemini supports than on how rarely it gets things wrong.