The Pixel 8 Pro is getting a substantial upgrade as Google introduces several new features to the smartphone, some of which are powered by Gemini Nano.
Recently, the tech giant launched its highly anticipated Gemini AI model to power a variety of platforms. There are three different versions of it, but the one coming to Pixel is the aforementioned one Nano, which will be the driving force behind the Summarize tool in the Recorder app and Smart Reply in Gboard. The first works exactly as the name suggests: it creates summaries for audio content stored on Recorder. It provides quick analysis of a conversation or presentation by highlighting key points of interest. However, it can only be summarized in English. Smart Reply, on the other hand, suggests “high-quality responses” to texts that fit the current context.
If this all sounds familiar, that's because they were first shown off at a previous Made by Google event in October.
There's a catch with Smart Reply: it's only available as a developer preview in English on WhatsApp. You are welcome to try it out for yourself by enabling Aicore Persistent in the Settings menu. Detailed instructions can be found on the Android developer website. Moreover, the tool is available worldwide, so everyone can get started with it. Please note that because Smart Reply is in preview phase, it may not work as well as intended. There are plans to expand the feature to other messaging apps, but there's no word on when we'll see the rollout.
To try the new Gboard Smart Reply feature on the Pixel 8 Pro, go to Settings > Developer Options > AiCore Settings and enable “Enable Aicore Persistent.” Then open a WhatsApp conversation to see the LLM-powered Smart Reply suggestions in Gboard's suggestion… pic.twitter.com/ceYCQpCTz7December 6, 2023
Camera improvements
As for the rest of the update, the other features are mainly focused on improving the camera capabilities of the Pixel 8 Pro. There are four in total.
First, you have Video Boost. This will cause the smartphone to upload your footage to Google's cloud, where the company's “computational photography models” will enhance the file by adjusting color and exposure, stabilizing the shot and removing any grain.
The visual improvements will extend to Night Sight, where AI will reduce the amount of noise in videos recorded in low light. It even has a new Timelapse feature that lets you film long-form content of a changing environment.
Next up, the Portrait Lighting effect in Google Photos now comes with a balance mode to remove harsh shadows, improving the overall quality of an image. Photo Unblur sees a performance boost and gets better at sharpening photos of dogs and cats.
Notable features
That's about it for all the AI-powered features being introduced, although the update has more in store.
Google is adding a repair mode to the Pixel 8 Pro. This locks the device and protects sensitive data when the phone is not in your possession, such as when you send it in for repair, hence the name. Galaxy phones have something similar.
The Camera app's Cleanup tool can remove smudges or blemishes from scanned documents. Finally, Google Assistant will recommend contextual answers on the call screen in case you can't (or don't want to) answer the phone. The latter will get a wider release, as it will be present on the Pixel Fold, the Pixel 6 and newer models.
Make sure to keep an eye out for the patch when it arrives. While you wait, check out Ny Breaking's list of the best Pixel phones for 2023. It's not too late to get that last Christmas gift.