Google announced its latest artificial intelligence features for Android smartphones and other devices, including wearable gadgets. It displayed the AI-capable products at its Made by Google event on Tuesday.
Google’s flagship smartphones under the Pixel 9 series will feature new AI capabilities, including Pixel Studio for AI-based image generation, Pixel Screenshot app, and Magic Editor. Google said its Gemini AI assistant is capable of answering complex questions, and it does not rely on another AI service for its functionality. Observers noted the statement was a hit at its rival, Apple.
Pixel 9 series smartphones feature range of AI functions
Google also said its Pixel 9 smartphones will have satellite SOS functionality, which it claimed will make it the first Android device to have this feature. Users can contact emergency services through satellite in areas without network coverage, but the service is currently limited to its users in the US.
Google said it will extend these features to Pixel 8 series devices as well, which were released last year.
The Pixel Screenshot app is exclusive to Pixel 9 smartphones, which will help users organize screenshots, from saving them to recalling them with relevant information. The screenshots users take will also be searchable in the app.
The app will also save the link to the webpage the user was on when they took the screenshot for later reference. The backlinking feature is similar to Microsoft’s Recall feature, which the company introduced with the Copilot.
Google also introduced the Pixel Studio app during the event. The app is based on an on-device AI model that generates images from text prompts and has built-in functionality for editing the generated images. Users can now add or remove different elements in their images. The option resembles Apple’s Image Playground app, which is part of the Apple intelligence suite.
The Magic Editor on the Pixel 9 smartphones also has a new feature called “Add Me.” Users can overlay their own pictures on a group image, eliminating the need for a tripod and getting help from other people to take a picture.
Google says users can now speak to Gemini as they speak to another person
Google said Gemini Live, its AI assistant, will be available for Gemini Advanced subscribers on Pixel 9 Pro smartphones without any additional charges. Gemini Live helps users to engage in free-flowing conversations with the artificial intelligence model.
Citing a post by Google’s Android Ecosystem President, Sameer Samat:
“We’ve completely rebuilt the assistant experience with Gemini so you can speak to it naturally, the way you would have with another person.”
Gemini can understand a user’s intent, follow their thoughts, and complete tasks, Samat added. Google announced at the event that, “Gemini is deeply integrated with Google apps and Android and can handle complex queries without handing them off to third-party AI providers you may not know or trust.”
Different news outlets are reporting it as a direct hit at Apple’s plans to integrate ChatGPT into its voice assistant Siri.
It is important to remember that Apple is also expected to launch its Apple Intelligence later this year for all its gadgets, including iPhones. Apple faced criticism after it revealed that its AI apps will incorporate OpenAI’s ChatGPT for some functions. At that time, the smartphone maker said it would use ChatGPT to generate photorealistic content or text and facilitate requests like cooking recipes.
Gemini Live became available on Tuesday on Android phones. However, it is limited to English and for advanced subscribers only. In the coming weeks, it will expand to Apple’s iOS and include more languages.
The search giant also debuted a new model of its smartwatch, the Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Buds Pro 2, equipped with Tensor A1 chips. These AI-capable earbuds have active noise cancellation and can stop twice as much noise as the previous model, the company claimed, including traffic noise and background conversations in coffee shops.
Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/google-ai-features-android-made-by-google/