For a long time, it’s been hard for me to imagine life without Google. From Search and Gmail to Nest speakers and Pixel phones, the company’s ecosystem of software and hardware has expanded over the years to be able to fill nearly every consumer tech need — and for myself and a lot of other Android users, it’s done exactly that. Since becoming so deeply ingrained in my routines, though, Google has changed a lot.
Google Search is more AI-oriented than ever, with the capability to generate bespoke “mini apps” to complete tasks and send automated agents off to browse and monitor the internet on your behalf. Android 17’s hallmark upgrade is a suite of AI features baked into the OS. Google Photos wants to catalog the clothes you wear. Gmail doesn’t offer as much no-strings-attached storage as it once did, but now it can read and write emails for you. The entire Google ecosystem has shifted radically in the span of just a few years, and all that change is making me wish I wasn’t so invested.
