Pixel 9 Rumored to Coming With Three New AI Features
Google is set to unveil its Pixel 9 lineup of smartphones in August , a full month earlier than usual. Along with the new hardware, which has of course already been leaked , the company will likely introduce new software features for the new Pixel devices, and unsurprisingly, most of them will be related to artificial intelligence. Luckily for us, we don’t have to wait to learn about some of these features.
In an exclusive report, Android Authority details the new AI features expected to come to the Pixel 9. Android Authority reports that a source inside Google provided the publication with a list of five features that the company plans to highlight in its new smartphone release this year via a screenshot below titled “Discover Google AI at its best.”
We already know about two of these features. One of them is Circle to Search , which, as the name suggests, allows you to draw a circle around an item on your smartphone’s display to start searching for it. The other is Gemini , Google’s AI assistant, which you can already use to replace the traditional Google Assistant on your Pixel if you choose.
While Google may implement these two existing AI features as part of the Pixel 9 launch, there are three new AI features that the company may also introduce in tandem with the new smartphone:
Add me
According to a purported screenshot posted by Google Android Authority, “Add Me” is a feature that allows you to “make sure everyone is included in a group photo.” While it’s not very visual, it can be deduced that Android will use AI to edit your image if you didn’t have time to do so in the frame.
This would be in addition to Google’s existing Best Take feature, which, after taking multiple photos of a group of people, allows you to select the “best” face of each subject in each photo.
These are useful features in theory, but they challenge the very idea of photography: what’s the real point of a photograph if it doesn’t actually reflect reality? “Let’s all look at the group photo we took during our trip last year. Even though Greg wasn’t actually there… and Melissa definitely wasn’t looking at the camera… At least we’re all smiling!”
Studio
“You imagine it. The pixel creates it.” That’s how Google describes “Studio” in the Android Authority screenshot. From the description, it sounds like the built-in AI image generator on your Pixel. This is supported by the fact that Google is reportedly creating an app called Creative Assistant , primarily for creating stickers.
It’s normal for tech companies to offer AI generators these days, so this isn’t surprising. I’m sure Google will add some Pixel- or Android-specific features to Studio, but that’s all we know for now.
Pixel screenshots
This “Pixel Screenshots” is by far the most interesting new feature described here. Based on screenshots of the feature provided by Android Authority, Pixel Screenshots is essentially Microsoft’s recall feature, but for screenshots saved on your Pixel.
To recap, as you may recall, the program was designed to save a snapshot of your entire screen every few seconds so you could search for literally everything you’ve ever done on your computer. It was met with widespread concern and criticism, especially after it was found to be highly vulnerable to hacking. Microsoft has since delayed the implementation of this feature .
On the other hand, Pixel Screenshots doesn’t take a screenshot of your display every few seconds; rather, it scans existing screenshots to turn them into a “searchable library.” If you know you took a screenshot of a pair of shoes you wanted to buy or a receipt you wanted to point to, you can use this feature to find it.
When you enable this feature, Android will save additional data for screenshots you take later, including web links, app names, and the date and time the screenshot was taken to make it easier to find these data points in the future. Interestingly, this feature states that all data access and processing happens on the device, so none of your data should end up on Google’s servers.
At first glance, this appears to be much more secure than Microsoft’s solution, although it also serves a completely different purpose. However, there is a slight risk to this feature: Allowing AI to make it easier to find screenshots opens the door for anyone with access to your phone to do the same: if you save screenshots of sensitive information such as credit card numbers , banking information, or passwords, anyone with access to your phone can find this data.
However, Google has not yet announced any of these features. We’ll just have to see what features, if any, the company decides to include on the Pixel 9 when it launches later this year.