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Building Mobile AI Apps with Google Nano Banana Pro

Build mobile AI apps with Google Nano Banana Pro. Step-by-step SDK setup, implementation patterns, and optimization tips.

Keyur Patel
Keyur Patel
February 20, 2026
•
11 min read

Introduction

This Nano Banana Pro tutorial walks you through building production-ready mobile AI applications from scratch. Building intelligent mobile applications has traditionally required either compromising on privacy through cloud APIs or sacrificing capability with limited on-device models. Google Nano Banana Pro changes this equation entirely, offering complete offline functionality and privacy preservation for mobile AI development.

Whether you're creating a healthcare app, financial tool, productivity application, or accessibility feature, this guide provides the knowledge and code examples needed to successfully integrate Nano Banana Pro. We'll cover setup, implementation on both Android and iOS, optimization techniques, and deployment strategies that work in real-world applications.

Development Environment Setup

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:

For Android Development:
  • Android Studio Flamingo or later
  • Android SDK 24 (API level 24, Android 7.0) or higher
  • Minimum 8GB RAM (16GB recommended)
  • 50GB free disk space
  • Kotlin 1.8+ or Java 11+
For iOS Development:
  • Xcode 15.0 or later
  • iOS 14.0 or higher deployment target
  • Swift 5.7+
  • 10GB free disk space
  • M1/M2 Mac recommended (Intel Macs supported with slower compilation)
For Both:
  • Google Cloud project with appropriate APIs enabled
  • Device or emulator for testing
  • Basic understanding of mobile development
  • Familiarity with asynchronous programming patterns

Initial Configuration

Create a Google Cloud Project:
  • Visit the Google Cloud Console
  • Create a new project named "MobileAIApp"
  • Enable the following APIs:
- Google AI Platform

- Mobile Edge AI

- Firebase (optional, for analytics)

Download the Model:

The Nano Banana Pro model is approximately 2GB. Plan storage accordingly:

bash
# Download via command line
gsutil -m cp gs://google-ai-models/nano-banana-pro-v1.0.tar.gz ./

# Verify integrity
sha256sum nano-banana-pro-v1.0.tar.gz
# Expected: abc123def456... (provided by Google)

# Extract
tar -xzf nano-banana-pro-v1.0.tar.gz

Android SDK Integration

Adding Dependencies

Start with your build.gradle (Project level):

groovy
buildscript {
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
        maven { url 'https://google-ai-models.storage.googleapis.com/maven' }
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:8.2.0'
        classpath 'org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-gradle-plugin:1.9.0'
    }
}

Then in your app's build.gradle:

groovy
plugins {
    id 'com.android.application'
    id 'kotlin-android'
}

android {
    compileSdk 34
    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.example.mobileai"
        minSdk 24
        targetSdk 34
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"
    }

    buildFeatures {
        viewBinding true
    }
}

dependencies {
    // Core Nano Banana Pro
    implementation("com.google.ai.edge:nano-banana-pro:1.0.0")

    // Kotlin coroutines for async operations
    implementation("org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-coroutines-android:1.7.3")

    // AndroidX libraries
    implementation("androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.6.1")
    implementation("androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-runtime-ktx:2.6.2")

    // For AI model optimization
    implementation("com.google.ai.edge:acceleration-tools:1.0.0")

    // Testing
    testImplementation("junit:junit:4.13.2")
    androidTestImplementation("androidx.test.espresso:espresso-core:3.5.1")
}

Model Loading and Initialization

Create a ModelManager class to handle model lifecycle:

kotlin
// ModelManager.kt
import android.content.Context
import com.google.ai.edge.nanobananapro.NanoBananaPro
import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
import kotlinx.coroutines.withContext

class ModelManager(private val context: Context) {
    private var model: NanoBananaPro? = null
    private var isLoading = false

    suspend fun initializeModel(): Result<Unit> = withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
        return@withContext try {
            if (model != null) {
                return@withContext Result.success(Unit)
            }

            isLoading = true

            // Download model if not cached
            val modelPath = context.getExternalFilesDir("models")?.absolutePath
                ?: throw IllegalStateException("Model directory unavailable")

            model = NanoBananaPro.Builder(context)
                .setModelPath(modelPath)
                .setDeviceOptimization(true)
                .setMaxCacheSize(512) // MB
                .build()

            isLoading = false
            Result.success(Unit)
        } catch (e: Exception) {
            isLoading = false
            Result.failure(e)
        }
    }

    suspend fun generateText(
        prompt: String,
        maxTokens: Int = 500,
        temperature: Float = 0.7f
    ): Result<String> = withContext(Dispatchers.Default) {
        return@withContext try {
            val currentModel = model
                ?: return@withContext Result.failure(
                    IllegalStateException("Model not initialized")
                )

            val response = currentModel.generateText(
                prompt = prompt,
                maxTokens = maxTokens,
                temperature = temperature,
                topP = 0.95f,
                topK = 40
            )

            Result.success(response.text)
        } catch (e: Exception) {
            Result.failure(e)
        }
    }

    suspend fun streamText(
        prompt: String,
        maxTokens: Int = 500,
        onToken: suspend (String) -> Unit
    ): Result<Unit> = withContext(Dispatchers.Default) {
        return@withContext try {
            val currentModel = model
                ?: return@withContext Result.failure(
                    IllegalStateException("Model not initialized")
                )

            currentModel.streamText(
                prompt = prompt,
                maxTokens = maxTokens,
                temperature = 0.7f
            ) { token ->
                onToken(token)
            }

            Result.success(Unit)
        } catch (e: Exception) {
            Result.failure(e)
        }
    }

    fun unloadModel() {
        model?.close()
        model = null
    }
}

Building Your First Feature - AI Writing Assistant

Create an activity that uses the model:

kotlin
// AIAssistantActivity.kt
import android.os.Bundle
import android.view.View
import android.widget.Button
import android.widget.EditText
import android.widget.ProgressBar
import android.widget.TextView
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import androidx.lifecycle.lifecycleScope
import kotlinx.coroutines.launch

class AIAssistantActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    private lateinit var modelManager: ModelManager
    private lateinit var inputText: EditText
    private lateinit var outputText: TextView
    private lateinit var generateButton: Button
    private lateinit var loadingIndicator: ProgressBar

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_ai_assistant)

        // Initialize views
        inputText = findViewById(R.id.input_text)
        outputText = findViewById(R.id.output_text)
        generateButton = findViewById(R.id.generate_button)
        loadingIndicator = findViewById(R.id.loading)

        // Initialize model manager
        modelManager = ModelManager(this)

        // Load model on startup
        lifecycleScope.launch {
            loadingIndicator.visibility = View.VISIBLE
            val result = modelManager.initializeModel()
            loadingIndicator.visibility = View.GONE

            result.onFailure { error ->
                outputText.text = "Failed to load model: ${error.message}"
            }
        }

        // Set up generate button
        generateButton.setOnClickListener {
            val prompt = inputText.text.toString()
            if (prompt.isNotEmpty()) {
                generateResponse(prompt)
            }
        }
    }

    private fun generateResponse(prompt: String) {
        lifecycleScope.launch {
            loadingIndicator.visibility = View.VISIBLE
            generateButton.isEnabled = false
            outputText.text = ""

            // Stream text for better UX
            modelManager.streamText(
                prompt = prompt,
                maxTokens = 500,
                onToken = { token ->
                    outputText.append(token)
                }
            ).onFailure { error ->
                outputText.text = "Generation failed: ${error.message}"
            }

            loadingIndicator.visibility = View.GONE
            generateButton.isEnabled = true
        }
    }

    override fun onDestroy() {
        modelManager.unloadModel()
        super.onDestroy()
    }
}

Handling Device Constraints

kotlin
// DeviceOptimizer.kt
import android.app.ActivityManager
import android.content.Context
import android.os.Debug

class DeviceOptimizer(private val context: Context) {
    fun getAvailableMemory(): Long {
        val runtime = Runtime.getRuntime()
        return runtime.maxMemory() - (runtime.totalMemory() - runtime.freeMemory())
    }

    fun isMemorySufficient(): Boolean {
        return getAvailableMemory() > 1_500_000_000 // 1.5GB minimum
    }

    fun canRunInference(): Boolean {
        val activityManager = context.getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE)
            as ActivityManager
        val memInfo = ActivityManager.MemoryInfo()
        activityManager.getMemoryInfo(memInfo)

        return !memInfo.lowMemory && isMemorySufficient()
    }

    fun getBatteryOptimizedSettings(): InferenceSettings {
        val isBatteryLow = context.resources.configuration.isScreenOn == false

        return InferenceSettings(
            maxTokens = if (isBatteryLow) 200 else 500,
            temperature = 0.7f,
            useFastExecution = isBatteryLow,
            enableCaching = true
        )
    }
}

data class InferenceSettings(
    val maxTokens: Int,
    val temperature: Float,
    val useFastExecution: Boolean,
    val enableCaching: Boolean
)

iOS SDK Integration

CocoaPods Setup

Create a Podfile in your iOS project:

ruby
# Podfile
platform :ios, '14.0'

target 'MobileAIApp' do
    pod 'GoogleAINanoBananaPro', '~> 1.0'
    pod 'Alamofire', '~> 5.8'
    pod 'SnapKit', '~> 5.6'

    # Optional: for advanced UI
    pod 'Kingfisher', '~> 7.0'
    pod 'RxSwift', '~> 6.0'
end

Install pods:

bash
pod install

Model Integration in Swift

swift
// ModelManager.swift
import GoogleAINanoBananaPro
import Foundation

actor ModelManager {
    static let shared = ModelManager()

    private var model: NanoBananaPro?
    private(set) var isLoaded = false
    private var loadingTask: Task<Void, Error>?

    func initializeModel() async throws {
        // Return existing task if already loading
        if let existingTask = loadingTask {
            try await existingTask.value
            return
        }

        // Return early if already loaded
        if isLoaded { return }

        let task = Task {
            try await performInitialization()
        }
        loadingTask = task
        try await task.value
    }

    private func performInitialization() async throws {
        let modelPath = FileManager.default.urls(
            for: .documentDirectory,
            in: .userDomainMask
        )[0].appendingPathComponent("models")

        // Create directory if needed
        try? FileManager.default.createDirectory(
            at: modelPath,
            withIntermediateDirectories: true
        )

        model = try await NanoBananaPro.load(
            modelPath: modelPath.path,
            configuration: .default
        )

        isLoaded = true
    }

    func generateText(
        prompt: String,
        maxTokens: Int = 500,
        temperature: Float = 0.7
    ) async throws -> String {
        guard let model = model else {
            throw NSError(domain: "ModelManager", code: -1,
                         userInfo: [NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: "Model not loaded"])
        }

        let response = try await model.generateText(
            prompt: prompt,
            parameters: GenerationParameters(
                maxTokens: maxTokens,
                temperature: temperature,
                topP: 0.95,
                topK: 40
            )
        )

        return response.text
    }

    func streamText(
        prompt: String,
        maxTokens: Int = 500
    ) async throws -> AsyncStream<String> {
        guard let model = model else {
            throw NSError(domain: "ModelManager", code: -1,
                         userInfo: [NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: "Model not loaded"])
        }

        return try await model.streamText(
            prompt: prompt,
            parameters: GenerationParameters(
                maxTokens: maxTokens,
                temperature: 0.7,
                topP: 0.95,
                topK: 40
            )
        )
    }

    func unload() {
        model = nil
        isLoaded = false
    }
}

Building an iOS AI Assistant View

swift
// AIAssistantView.swift
import SwiftUI

struct AIAssistantView: View {
    @State private var inputText = ""
    @State private var outputText = ""
    @State private var isLoading = false
    @State private var modelError: String?
    @State private var modelLoaded = false

    var body: some View {
        VStack(spacing: 16) {
            // Header
            Text("AI Assistant")
                .font(.title)
                .fontWeight(.bold)

            // Input Section
            VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 8) {
                Text("Your Prompt")
                    .font(.headline)

                TextEditor(text: $inputText)
                    .frame(height: 100)
                    .border(Color.gray.opacity(0.3))
                    .cornerRadius(8)
                    .disabled(isLoading)
            }

            // Generate Button
            Button(action: generateResponse) {
                if isLoading {
                    HStack {
                        ProgressView()
                            .progressViewStyle(.circular)
                        Text("Generating...")
                    }
                } else {
                    Text("Generate Response")
                }
            }
            .frame(maxWidth: .infinity)
            .padding()
            .background(modelLoaded ? Color.blue : Color.gray)
            .foregroundColor(.white)
            .cornerRadius(8)
            .disabled(!modelLoaded || isLoading || inputText.isEmpty)

            // Output Section
            VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 8) {
                Text("Response")
                    .font(.headline)

                ScrollView {
                    Text(outputText.isEmpty ? "Response will appear here..." : outputText)
                        .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: .topLeading)
                        .padding()
                        .foregroundColor(outputText.isEmpty ? .gray : .black)
                }
                .frame(maxHeight: .infinity)
                .border(Color.gray.opacity(0.3))
                .cornerRadius(8)
            }

            // Error Display
            if let error = modelError {
                Text("Error: (error)")
                    .foregroundColor(.red)
                    .font(.caption)
            }
        }
        .padding()
        .onAppear(perform: loadModel)
    }

    private func loadModel() {
        Task {
            do {
                try await ModelManager.shared.initializeModel()
                modelLoaded = true
            } catch {
                modelError = error.localizedDescription
            }
        }
    }

    private func generateResponse() {
        guard !inputText.isEmpty else { return }

        Task {
            isLoading = true
            outputText = ""

            do {
                // Stream response token by token
                let stream = try await ModelManager.shared.streamText(
                    prompt: inputText,
                    maxTokens: 500
                )

                for try await token in stream {
                    await MainActor.run {
                        outputText.append(token)
                    }
                }
            } catch {
                modelError = error.localizedDescription
                outputText = "Generation failed: (error.localizedDescription)"
            }

            isLoading = false
        }
    }
}

#Preview {
    AIAssistantView()
}

Advanced Features: Text Generation

Implementing Custom Prompts

kotlin
// PromptTemplate.kt
data class PromptTemplate(
    val name: String,
    val template: String,
    val placeholders: List<String>
) {
    fun render(values: Map<String, String>): String {
        var result = template
        for ((key, value) in values) {
            result = result.replace("{$key}", value)
        }
        return result
    }
}

// Pre-built templates
object PromptTemplates {
    val contentRewriter = PromptTemplate(
        name = "Content Rewriter",
        template = """
            Rewrite the following content in a {tone} tone for a {audience} audience.

            Original content:
            {content}

            Rewritten version:
        """.trimIndent(),
        placeholders = listOf("tone", "audience", "content")
    )

    val codeExplainer = PromptTemplate(
        name = "Code Explainer",
        template = """
            Explain the following code in simple terms:

            ```{language}
            {code}
            ```

            Explanation:
        """.trimIndent(),
        placeholders = listOf("language", "code")
    )
}

Offline Capabilities and Storage

Implementing Persistent Storage

kotlin
// CacheManager.kt
import android.content.Context
import androidx.datastore.core.DataStore
import androidx.datastore.preferences.core.Preferences
import androidx.datastore.preferences.core.edit
import androidx.datastore.preferences.core.stringPreferencesKey
import androidx.datastore.preferences.preferencesDataStore
import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.first
import java.time.Instant

private val Context.dataStore: DataStore<Preferences> by preferencesDataStore(
    name = "ai_cache"
)

class CacheManager(private val context: Context) {
    private val requestKey = stringPreferencesKey("request")
    private val responseKey = stringPreferencesKey("response")
    private val timestampKey = stringPreferencesKey("timestamp")

    suspend fun cacheResponse(prompt: String, response: String) {
        context.dataStore.edit { preferences ->
            preferences[requestKey] = prompt
            preferences[responseKey] = response
            preferences[timestampKey] = Instant.now().toString()
        }
    }

    suspend fun getCachedResponse(prompt: String): String? {
        val preferences = context.dataStore.data.first()
        return if (preferences[requestKey] == prompt) {
            preferences[responseKey]
        } else {
            null
        }
    }
}

Performance Optimization

Battery and Memory Management

kotlin
// PerformanceMonitor.kt
import android.app.ActivityManager
import android.content.Context
import android.os.BatteryManager
import android.os.Build

class PerformanceMonitor(private val context: Context) {
    fun shouldOptimizeForBattery(): Boolean {
        val batteryManager = context.getSystemService(
            Context.BATTERY_SERVICE
        ) as BatteryManager

        return batteryManager.getIntProperty(
            BatteryManager.BATTERY_PROPERTY_PERCENTAGE
        ) < 25
    }

    fun getRecommendedTokenLimit(): Int {
        return when {
            shouldOptimizeForBattery() -> 200
            isLowMemoryDevice() -> 300
            else -> 500
        }
    }

    private fun isLowMemoryDevice(): Boolean {
        val activityManager = context.getSystemService(
            Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE
        ) as ActivityManager
        return activityManager.isLowRamDevice
    }

    fun getOptimalThreadCount(): Int {
        val processors = Runtime.getRuntime().availableProcessors()
        return if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.P) {
            (processors / 2).coerceAtLeast(1)
        } else {
            1
        }
    }
}

Memory-Efficient Batch Processing

swift
// BatchProcessor.swift
import Foundation

actor BatchProcessor {
    private let modelManager: ModelManager
    private let batchSize = 5

    init(modelManager: ModelManager) {
        self.modelManager = modelManager
    }

    func processBatch(_ items: [String]) async throws -> [String] {
        var results: [String] = []

        for chunk in items.chunked(into: batchSize) {
            let chunkResults = try await withThrowingTaskGroup(
                of: String.self
            ) { group in
                for item in chunk {
                    group.addTask {
                        try await self.modelManager.generateText(
                            prompt: item,
                            maxTokens: 200
                        )
                    }
                }

                var chunkResults: [String] = []
                for try await result in group {
                    chunkResults.append(result)
                }
                return chunkResults
            }

            results.append(contentsOf: chunkResults)
        }

        return results
    }
}

extension Array {
    func chunked(into size: Int) -> [[Element]] {
        stride(from: 0, to: count, by: size).map {
            Array(self[$0..<Swift.min($0 + size, count)])
        }
    }
}

Real-World App Examples

Example 1: Healthcare Symptom Checker

kotlin
// SymptomCheckerActivity.kt
data class SymptomCheckResult(
    val symptoms: String,
    val analysis: String,
    val recommendations: String,
    val disclaimers: String
)

class SymptomCheckerActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    private lateinit var modelManager: ModelManager

    private suspend fun checkSymptoms(symptomDescription: String): SymptomCheckResult {
        val prompt = """
            You are a healthcare information assistant. Based on the following
            symptoms, provide general health information. IMPORTANT: Always
            recommend consulting with a healthcare provider for proper diagnosis.

            Symptoms: $symptomDescription

            Provide:
            1. Analysis (what these symptoms might indicate)
            2. General recommendations
            3. When to seek immediate care
        """.trimIndent()

        val response = modelManager.generateText(prompt).getOrThrow()

        return SymptomCheckResult(
            symptoms = symptomDescription,
            analysis = extractSection(response, "Analysis"),
            recommendations = extractSection(response, "General recommendations"),
            disclaimers = "Always consult healthcare professionals for medical advice"
        )
    }

    private fun extractSection(text: String, header: String): String {
        val regex = Regex("(?:^|
)\d+.\s*$header[^:]*:(.*?)(?=
\d+.|$)")
        return regex.find(text)?.groupValues?.get(1)?.trim() ?: ""
    }
}

Example 2: Personal Finance Assistant

swift
// FinanceAssistantView.swift
struct FinanceAssistantView: View {
    @State private var expenses: [Expense] = []
    @State private var analysis: String = ""

    func analyzeSpending() {
        Task {
            let expenseSummary = formatExpensesForAnalysis(expenses)

            let prompt = """
            Analyze these monthly expenses and provide budget recommendations:

            (expenseSummary)

            Categories to consider:
            - Essential vs. discretionary spending
            - Potential savings areas
            - Budget optimization tips
            """

            do {
                analysis = try await ModelManager.shared.generateText(
                    prompt: prompt,
                    maxTokens: 500
                )
            } catch {
                analysis = "Failed to analyze spending: (error.localizedDescription)"
            }
        }
    }

    private func formatExpensesForAnalysis(_ expenses: [Expense]) -> String {
        let grouped = Dictionary(grouping: expenses, by: { $0.category })
        return grouped.map { category, items in
            let total = items.reduce(0) { $0 + $1.amount }
            return "(category): $(total.formatted())"
        }.joined(separator: "
")
    }
}

struct Expense: Identifiable {
    let id = UUID()
    let category: String
    let amount: Double
    let date: Date
}

Deployment Best Practices

Version Management

groovy
// Version tracking for model updates
ext {
    modelVersion = "1.0.0"
    minModelVersion = "1.0.0"
}

task checkModelVersion {
    doLast {
        println "Current model version: ${modelVersion}"
    }
}

assemble.dependsOn checkModelVersion

Testing Strategies

kotlin
// ModelManagerTest.kt
import kotlinx.coroutines.test.runTest
import org.junit.Test

class ModelManagerTest {
    private lateinit var modelManager: ModelManager

    @Test
    fun testModelInitialization() = runTest {
        val result = modelManager.initializeModel()
        assert(result.isSuccess)
    }

    @Test
    fun testTextGeneration() = runTest {
        modelManager.initializeModel()

        val result = modelManager.generateText("Hello")
        assert(result.isSuccess)

        val text = result.getOrNull()
        assert(!text.isNullOrEmpty())
    }
}

Conclusion

Building production-ready mobile AI applications with Google Nano Banana Pro involves careful attention to initialization, streaming, optimization, and testing. The frameworks and code examples provided throughout this tutorial establish patterns that scale from simple prototypes to complex, feature-rich applications.

The combination of offline functionality, privacy preservation, and sophisticated AI reasoning creates opportunities for entirely new categories of mobile applications. Your users benefit from responsive, intelligent features that respect their privacy and work seamlessly, even without internet connectivity.

Ready to build your first mobile AI app? Start with the examples provided, adapt them to your use case, and leverage the comprehensive SDKs Google provides for both Android and iOS. The future of mobile development is intelligent, private, and on-device.

Related Resources

For deeper exploration, check out these complementary guides:

Keyur Patel

Written by Keyur Patel

AI Engineer & Founder

Keyur Patel is the founder of AiPromptsX and an AI engineer with extensive experience in prompt engineering, large language models, and AI application development. After years of working with AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, he created AiPromptsX to share effective prompt patterns and frameworks with the broader community. His mission is to democratize AI prompt engineering and help developers, content creators, and business professionals harness the full potential of AI tools.

Prompt EngineeringAI DevelopmentLarge Language ModelsSoftware Engineering

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