Google listed the Android and iOS apps for its AI-powered NotebookLM service on Thursday. These apps are currently not available for download, but those interested can pre-register, and the app will be automatically installed once it is launched. On the App Store, the app page says that it will go live on May 20, which is also the first day of Google I/O 2025. An app version of the platform has been in discussion ever since the platform was released in June 2024. The tech giant reportedly began testing the apps in March.
NotebookLM Will Soon Be Available as Mobile Apps
First spotted by 9to5Google, the official app listing for NotebookLM is currently visible on both Google Play as well as the App Store. While the Android version does not mention any specific date when it will go live, the iOS version mentions May 20.
NotebookLM was released by Google as an artificial intelligence (AI) research assistant. Users can add documents, URLs, YouTube videos, and plain text as sources, which are then analysed by the platform.
Users can ask the AI to prepare a summary, study guides, FAQs, and more. The sources can also be turned into an AI-powered audio discussion, and users can converse with a chatbot to ask questions about the content of the source.
In June 2024, when asked about the company’s plans to introduce the platform as an app, Raiza Martin, Senior Product Manager at Google Labs, told Gadgets 360 that building an app was being discussed internally. Another 9to5Google report claimed that the Mountain View-based tech giant began testing the apps in March.
Based on screenshots shared by the company on the app listing page, the layout appears to be similar to the mobile website. The home screen shows a list of all the existing notebooks, with an option to create a new notebook at the bottom.
The source formats that can be added as a source are significantly fewer than the website. The app only accepts PDF files, website URLs, YouTube links, and copied text. On the other hand, the website also allows users to add sources from Google Drive (Docs and Slides), TXT (text) format, as well as audio files.
The Audio Overviews feature is available on the app, and users will be able to create the AI-powered podcast-style audio discussions without having to visit the website. Additionally, the app will also allow users to share sources to NotebookLM from anywhere on the device. Notably, the iOS app’s size will be 88.4MB.
