A clever new way to create instant reminders on Android

I don’t know how my brain would even function at this point if it weren’t for reminders.

No joke: This rusty ol’ noggin of mine is overloaded with info these days (and, as I’ve noted before, it ran out of internal storage space approximately 12 years ago — and I’ve yet to find an affordable hippocampus RAM upgrade). So more and more, I find myself relying on a complex web of reminders both physical and digital to make sure I manage everything from day-to-day chores to Very Important Business Matters.

One area where such a need seems to come up constantly is on my Android device — when I see something in a text message, a Slack message, an email, or maybe even a website that makes me think, “Hey, you handsome but mushy-brained miscreant, you’d better not forget to come back to this later!” 

And one tool I’ve found absolutely indispensable in such scenarios is the native screenshot reminder system built into Google’s Pixel 9-level gadgets.

It couldn’t be much easier to use: Anytime you see anything reminder-worthy, you snag a screenshot — by pressing your device’s physical power and volume-down buttons at the same time — then look for the handy little bell icon that pops up as a part of the standard screenshot confirmation in the lower-left corner of the screen.

It’s incredibly handy. But it’s also, unfortunately, available only on the very latest Google Pixel devices — which means the vast majority of Android-appreciating animals are unable to take advantage of it.

But fear not, my fellow memory-challenged manatee: I’ve got an awesomely effective new way to bring a similar sort of superpower onto any Android device this instant — no matter who made it or how old it may be.

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Android reminders, on demand

Now, first things first: If you’re a regular reader of this increasingly crusty column, you might be thinking to yourself: “Uh, Mr. Memory Man? You’ve written this same story before.”

And, well, you’re kinda right — with the key word being kinda. Shortly after the Pixel 9’s debut, whilst I was first basking in the beauty of its underappreciated and barely-mentioned on-demand reminder brilliance, I came up with a rather convoluted way to emulate something similar on any Android device, with the help of a third-party task app and some other optional elements.

It got the job done, all right, but it wasn’t exactly easy — and it required you to rely on an external app for storing and managing your reminders, too, which isn’t exactly optimal.

Today, inspired by the crafty thinking of one of my Intelligence Insider community members, I’ve got an even better way to rev up your reminders while remaining well within Google’s core apps and services.

With my thanks to Joshua G. from our forum, the fix leans entirely on Google’s next-gen Gemini Android assistant. And if you’re a generative-AI eye-roller who’s tired of everyone pretending these systems aren’t glorified pattern-predictors with shockingly disqualifying accuracy issues, don’t worry — ’cause this setup, like the many excellent Gemini possibilities I uncovered and shared with you last week, has nothing to do with the typically touted genAI goofiness and is instead more of a conventional virtual assistant ability.

But enough blathering — here’s the trick to try out on your own:

The next time you see something you need to remember anywhere on Android, snag a screenshot — just like you would with the Pixel 9 approach we went over a minute ago. (Again, power button and volume-down button together.)

Then, when you see the little screenshot confirmation pop-up, tap the share icon within it and select Gemini from the list of options.

Gemini now comes preinstalled on most current devices, and many older devices have also been updated to include it. If your device doesn’t yet show Gemini as an option, you can manually download the official Gemini app and then open it once to get things going.

Also, bonus tip: If you want to make this even more convenient moving forward, you can use Android’s oft-forgotten share menu pinning option to stick Gemini to the top of the list for especially easy ongoing access.

Now, once Gemini comes up — with your screenshot already in place within its prompt box — either type in the text or tap the microphone button and then speak the command to remind me about this, optionally with a specific day and time at the end.

Take a screenshot, share it to Gemini, then ask it to creator a reminder — and poof: The deed is done.JR Raphael, Foundry

You can follow this pattern for practically anything, but where it’s especially handy is when the underlying info on the screen was already about a specific task or activity you need to remember.

In that sort of scenario, Gemini will automatically extract and implement all the details from within the screenshot — including the nature of the task and, if present, even the date and time it mentions.

Instant extraction and intelligent reminder creation, all thanks to Gemini on Android.JR Raphael, Foundry

You get the idea.

In the right sort of situation and with the right thinking around it, it’s yet another way Gemini can actually be useful on Android — without any of the asterisks or eye-rolling that accompany its most publicly promoted possibilities.

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