Google cancels its AI Studio mobile app — features will be folded into Gemini

The company announced that the Google AI Studio app for iOS and Android, unveiled at the I/O 2026 conference, won't be coming out. All the core functionality that was meant to go into it will gradually be integrated into the main Gemini client — on both smartphones and desktops.

The decision comes as a surprise, given the hype surrounding pre-orders: according to Google, over 800,000 people reserved the app. The company figured that maintaining a separate program for tinkering with AI models and building your own software right on your phone wasn't the most practical move — especially when those same features could be added to a chat client already installed on millions of devices.

Originally, the mobile version of AI Studio was pitched as a lightweight tool that would let even non-technical users experiment with language models, whip up app prototypes, and tweak AI behavior without writing any code. But instead of cluttering up home screens with yet another icon, Google decided to rethink the whole interaction model altogether.

This means users won't have to jump between separate environments — they'll be able to ask Gemini to build a simple tool, fine-tune it for their specific task, and use it straight away, all within a single chat window. The details are still under wraps, but judging by the statement, we're talking about deep integration where creating software becomes a natural extension of a conversation with the AI.

The web version of AI Studio, however, remains a fully-fledged product and will continue to receive updates. The team stressed that they're still investing in the web interface for those who prefer to go from idea to prompt to business on a big screen. There are no plans to scale back the desktop version or impose any restrictions.

Pulling the plug on a standalone mobile app with nearly a million pre-orders is a pretty unusual move. It might point to a strategic shift internally — Google seems to be placing its bets on a universal assistant that doesn't just answer queries but becomes a platform in its own right for spinning up lightweight AI solutions. Similar trends are popping up among competitors, who are also looking to cut down on the number of mandatory apps and refocus on use cases within a single ecosystem. As for when exactly these "builder" features will land in Gemini, there's no timeline yet.

What do you think — is it more convenient to build mini-apps right inside the Gemini chat, or would you have preferred a separate app? Drop your thoughts in the comments.