1. Agent Mode handles a lot of my first draft
Instead of asking Gemini for one function, copying it into my project, fixing the imports, creating another file, and repeating the process, I can give Agent Mode a larger task.
2. I ask Gemini about errors before leaving Android Studio
3. Prompt Library means I don’t keep writing the same prompts
You can save prompts you use frequently and recall them directly from the IDE. Prompts can exist at the IDE level or project level, and templates can even reference selected code or files.
One particularly useful detail is project-level prompts. They’re stored with the project, which means a team can maintain useful AI prompts alongside the codebase.
4. Parallel Agent conversations are surprisingly useful
5. I occasionally check the metrics to see whether AI is actually helping
6. Starting a project with AI removes the least interesting part
7. Gems are useful when I want the same Gemini “developer” again
Gems are customized versions of Gemini that you can configure for recurring tasks or areas of expertise. Think of it as saving more than a prompt.
For example, you could create an Android Code Reviewer Gem and tell it:
prefer Kotlin
follow modern Android architecture guidance
prefer Jetpack Compose
check state hoisting
look for lifecycle problems
flag unnecessary recompositions
check accessibility
explain recommendations before rewriting code
8. Gemini Notebook has become my second brain for technical research
9. Journeys with Gemini changes how I think about UI testing
One more thing: use /plan before large changes
The bigger shift