Google cancels the planned app AI Studio for iOS and Android even before its market launch, although around 800,000 users had pre-registered. The features for building custom apps via AI prompts will instead be integrated directly into the existing Gemini app for smartphone and desktop. The company has not yet provided a date for the integration.
Company consolidates app building directly in the Gemini app
Google announced the mobile AI Studio app in May at its own developer conference I/O 2026. It was intended to allow users to input an idea on the go and have a working prototype ready by the time they reached their desk – as a mobile alternative to the previous use of aistudio.google.com in the browser. Around 800,000 interested users pre-reserved the app via Google Play and the App Store, an unusually high, independently unverified figure for an unreleased app. This is seen as evidence of interest in AI-supported app building without programming knowledge.
In a post from the official AI Studio account on X, Google announced that instead of another app for download, it would pursue a different approach. Apps will now emerge directly from everyday conversations with Gemini, without separate installation. The Gemini team and the AI Studio team are already working together to integrate these building features into the Gemini app on mobile devices and desktop. A standalone app, as originally planned, is therefore off the table.
Web version remains, rollout date open
The browser-based version at aistudio.google.com continues unchanged. As 9to5Google reports, it remains the platform for anyone looking to develop an initial input step by step into a complete, production-ready project – for example, for small internal company tools. There is currently no date for the planned integration into the Gemini app: Google has only announced that it will share more details soon.
The Gemini app itself is available for free download in Germany and the entire EU, with basic functions usable without a subscription. For higher usage limits and extended models, a paid Google AI subscription is required, as with other Gemini features. The web version of AI Studio itself remains free to use for initial prototypes. Anyone wanting to use a prototype built there productively will already need a separate, usage-based access via the Gemini API. Whether the future app building feature in Gemini will be tied to the same subscription limits remains open. For professionals looking to build small internal tools without programming knowledge, the access method changes primarily: instead of an additional app, the already mostly installed Gemini app will suffice.
Decision continues Google’s consolidation course with Gemini
This step is part of a series of product decisions in which Google consolidates additional features directly into Gemini instead of in separate apps. Just at the end of July, the Gemini app for Mac received a system-wide dictation feature. Previously, the company had also opted for a closer integration with the main app rather than separate tools with the cheaper Gemini 3.6 models. Digital Trends categorizes the cancellation as a way to avoid app fragmentation: instead of distributing features across multiple downloads, Gemini is to become the central hub for app creation.
In June 2026, Google had already discontinued the separate image editing app Pixel Studio and transferred its features into the Gemini image model Nano Banana, as gagadget reported. This is another example of the strategy to consolidate AI tools instead of distributing them across multiple apps. Google did not comment on the approximately 800,000 pre-orders for the AI Studio app regarding whether the affected users would receive a separate notification or direct access to the future Gemini feature.
It will be crucial whether Google integrates app creation so seamlessly into existing Gemini conversations that it is actually found in everyday life. Previous additional features of the app fell short of expectations regarding their visibility. It also remains unclear whether the yet-to-be-named rollout date will take effect simultaneously in the USA and the EU.
