After the AI features offered by Samsung Galaxy AI, Apple Intelligence, and Moto AI (Motorola), it’s Google’s turn to introduce custom options. According to leaks reported by Android Authority, Google is preparing to launch a set of AI features on the Pixel 9, grouped under the name “Google AI.” Google’s goal is to make its AI offering more readable and coherent.
Of the five mentioned functions, some are already available in the American giant's models and the latest Samsung phones, such as “Circle to Search”, as well as the Gemini assistant that should replace Google Assistant in Android smartphones. But there are three new features that are emerging.
Pixel Screenshots: An Alternative to Microsoft's Controversial Summoning Function?
Perhaps the most interesting feature is “Pixel Screenshots.” It will analyze screenshots stored on the Pixel 9 and use AI to make it easier to find information in those images. Metadata will be added to allow the phone to be queried and get relevant summaries or snippets.
This principle is reminiscent of Microsoft’s Recall feature, which has been the subject of much controversy due to privacy concerns. But Google seems to want to avoid these pitfalls. Pixel screenshots will be limited to analyzing the user’s own shots, not the entire screen like Recall. The processing will be done by local AI (possibly a version of Gemini Nano) and the feature will be disableable. Google is thus trying to find the right balance between utility and respect for privacy.
Add Me and Studio: AI for Photography and Visual Creativity
Two other new features are planned for the Pixel 9’s “Google AI” suite: “Add Me” and “Studio.” The former appears to be related to group photography. It will ensure everyone is included, perhaps by intelligently merging multiple shots. This could evoke an improved version of the Pixel’s “Best Take” function.
As for the studio, the information is more vague, but it will be an AI-powered visual creation tool. “You imagine it, pixels create it,” the description says, which brings to mind an image generator based on text queries, as Google has already introduced with Imagen 2. But the studio could go further and also offer in the field of video creation, an area in which Google showed off its progress at its I/O conference in May.
Launching on August 13: AI as an argument against Apple and Samsung
So Google is expected to unveil a bunch of new AI features with the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL on August 13. The company is changing its usual schedule by holding a much earlier-than-usual presentation, perhaps to get ahead of Apple, which is set to launch an iPhone 16 with “Apple Intelligence” in September.
Indeed, in addition to image quality, artificial intelligence has clearly become a key battleground for the giants of mobile technology. Samsung was the first to use the Galaxy S24 and its “Galaxy AI” functions. Google intends to respond with “Google AI” on the Pixel 9, taking advantage of its historical experience in this field. It remains to be seen how these innovations will translate into practice and how users will receive them. Indeed, we should not lose sight of the fact that they are becoming increasingly sensitive to confidentiality issues while the European Commission is also monitoring the options presented by the different brands. The response in a few weeks.
