NotebookLM is my favorite AI tool, but wow, its Android version is bad!
I suggest you stick with its web interface for now.
There are a few AI tools that I find genuinely useful, and NotebookLM is absolutely one of them. If you’re unfamiliar with Google’s unsung AI hero, consider it similar to ChatGPT, except you control which sources it draws information from. It’s a brilliant concept that I’ve used in numerous ways since its debut several years ago. It’s helped me comb through insurance quotes, compare legalese-infected medical plans, and it has even become my quick-reference car manual. However, for all its positives, its biggest loss was its lack of an Android app.
Sure, this was an annoying reality, but it didn’t hinder the NotebookLM experience for me. I used workarounds to access it from my phone reliably, but I believed an official app would presumably have its advantages. Surely, it would be better integrated with other Google products, allow me to view all of what NotebookLM offers on the web, and make people aware of its existence. All good things, right? So, when Google teased and then launched the NotebookLM Android app earlier this month, I was expecting big things. Well, I’m now upset that I let my hopes up.
