Despite claims that this wouldn’t happen, Gemini Nano will in fact make its way to the Pixel 8. Google didn’t reveal many details in their announcement, so the full capabilities of the AI on the smartphone are unknown at this time. However, Gemini Nano on the Pixel 8 can perform similarly to its Pixel 8 Pro counterpart.
According to 9To5Google, it is used to control two functions: Summarize in Recorder and Gboard Smart Reply. The first is a tool that writes summaries for audio files stored in the Recorder app. It even highlights “key points” in conversations as bullet points. Smart Reply can, as the name suggests, generate ‘smart replies’ that are fully aware of the context of a conversation. On the Pixel 8 Prodoes the feature work with Google Messages and third-party messaging services like WhatsApp.
A launch date for Gemini Nano on the Pixel 8 has not yet been set. 9To5Google states that the update will be released in June during the next Pixel Feature Drop. However, it will only be available in developer preview, meaning advanced steps may need to be taken if you want to gain access.
Previous claims
Either way, it’s good to see Gemini Nano expanding elsewhere. If you don’t know, the model is the “smallest version of the Gemini model family,” specifically designed to run on supporting Android phones. So it was strange to hear a Google engineer say this during a recent episode of The Android Show it wouldn’t show up on the Pixel 8. They blamed it on hardware limitations. The base phone has 8GB of RAM, while the Pro has 12GB of RAM, and that 4GB gap apparently made all the difference.
But as other people have said online, that claim was wrong. Industry expert Mishaal Rahman points out that the Samsung Galaxy S24 starts with 8GB of RAM and can run Gemini Nano without any problems. Barring an unknown hardware limitation, it should have been possible.
It turns out that it is. Google has apparently found a way to run the AI on less memory without negatively impacting the user experience.
The question now is: will the upcoming Pixel 8a have the same support? It’s hard to say. A lot of information has been leaked about the rumored budget Pixel, but there’s still a lot we don’t know, like the amount of RAM it will have at launch. If it’s anything like the Pixel 7a, the new phone will also have 8GB of memory so it can run Gemini Nano – barring any other limitations that prevent support, of course.
If you’re a developer and want to try Gemini Nano on your Pixel 8 this June, you’ll first need to fill out a Google Forms page for the Android Early Access Preview program. And check out Ny Breaking’s list of the best Pixel phones for 2024.