According to Android Police, Google’s NotebookLM app for Android and iOS has received a significant update that brings it much closer to feature parity with the web client. The key new feature is a camera icon that lets users snap pictures of whiteboards or handouts to instantly upload them as sources. The update also adds the recently launched Infographics and Slide Decks tools to mobile, along with a crucial feature that saves your progress in audio overviews so you can resume listening later. These features are available now in the latest version of the app on both platforms. Google also confirmed future updates, including potential support for Google Sheets, are in the works.
Mobile parity arrives
This update is a big deal because, frankly, the mobile app felt a bit like an afterthought at launch. It had basics, but missing the core web features made it a companion, not a full tool. Now, with the camera upload? That’s a game-changer for actually using this in real life. See a research poster at a conference? Snap it. Your professor’s messy whiteboard? Got it. It turns your phone from a passive viewer into an active capture device for the AI to work on. And bringing over Slide Decks and Infographics means you can start a project on your laptop and finish polishing it on your tablet or phone. That’s the seamless workflow they needed.
The audio save is sneaky smart
Let’s talk about that saved audio progress feature. It seems small, but it’s quietly one of the most important additions. How many times have you started a long podcast or audio note on an app, gotten interrupted, and then had to scrub through trying to find your place? It’s a pain. By solving that, NotebookLM is subtly encouraging you to use the audio overviews more. It treats that content like a saved podcast episode. That’s smart UX. It makes the tool feel less like a one-off query box and more like a persistent learning environment. The fact that it syncs across mobile and web is the cherry on top.
Where does NotebookLM go next?
So, what’s the trajectory here? NotebookLM started as an interesting experiment, but Google is clearly doubling down. They’re rapidly porting features from web to mobile, which tells me they see real engagement. The promised Google Sheets integration is the next logical step. Imagine analyzing a spreadsheet full of data just by asking your notebook about it. That moves it from a student/researcher tool into the business and analyst realm. But here’s my question: when do we get true multi-modal input? If it can read a photo of a whiteboard, when can I just have a conversation with it about a diagram or a physical object through the camera? That feels like the endgame.
The bigger AI race
Look, this isn’t just about note-taking apps. This is Google’s play to own the “grounded” AI space—AI that works specifically on your documents and your data. While ChatGPT and Copilot go broad, NotebookLM goes deep on your sources. By nailing the mobile experience, especially with instant capture, they’re embedding that workflow into daily life. The risk, as always with Google, is whether they’ll lose interest. But the steady stream of updates suggests this one might have staying power. Basically, they’re building a niche, and they’re building it well. If you’ve been ignoring NotebookLM because it was desktop-only, it’s time to take another look.
