Software has always been an integral part of the Pixel experience, and that’s not changing with the new Pixel 10 family. At its Made by Google event today in New York, Google detailed a suite of new machine learning and AI features that will debut with the Pixel 10 series before making their way to earlier models.
The first new tool most people are likely to encounter is Magic Cue. As you’re texting your friends, Gemini Nano, Google’s private on-device model, will populate the conversation with contextual suggestions. For example, if a friend asks about a dinner reservation you two made last week, the Pixel 10 will display a shortcut you can tap to send them a Google Maps listing. Magic Cue depends on there being a digital paper trail to work. You can long press the shortcuts it generates to see where Gemini sourced the information it’s relaying to you. In the case of the example above, it may have come from your personal Gmail.
The feature has extensions throughout Android. For instance, if a family member texts you about a flight you two are about to take, Magic Cue will not only provide the number of the airline, it will also display information about your flight on screen for easy reference.
On the Discover page, which you can access on nearly every Android device by swiping to the leftmost page of your phone’s home screen, there’s a new shortcut to a feature called the Daily Hub. Like Samsung’s Now Brief, it’s a page with an AI-generated summary of the upcoming day. At the top, you’ll see a greeting, with a weather forecast and and any upcoming events on your calendar. Below that, there will be a list of reminders pulled from Gmail, Keep and other Google apps. If you keep scrolling, you’ll also find recommended articles and videos from YouTube.
For those who also want to reflect at the end of their day, there’s a new Journal app too. It has AI features built throughout. For instance, as you’re writing an entry, it will automatically suggest images to include from your photo library. Additionally, the app will attempt to automatically categorize your entries based on topics you’ve designated. Google has used emoji for this part of the interface, which make it easy to see at a glance what you wrote about from the app’s monthly view.
Over in Photos, Google has introduced a feature called Conversational Editing. It allows you to tweak an image by describing to your phone how you want it modified. For example, say you took a selfie of yourself in a busy tourist location. You can tell Photos — using your voice, your phone’s on-screen keyboard or a suggested prompt — to edit all the strangers out of the scene. After a few moments, the on-device model will produce a new image, with the original displayed alongside it so you can compare the two. It’s possible to build multiple edits on top of one another, and if you don’t like the latest edit, you can go back.
In the camera app, there are a handful of new AI features. First, there’s Camera Coach, which will examine the shot you’re about to snap. It will read the scene and make suggestions on the angle and lighting to use, as well what capture mode is best for the situation. Another new AI feature, dubbed Auto Best Take, finds and combines similar photos so that everyone in a group shot looks their best. Lastly, Google updated last year’s Add Me feature to make it easier to include the photographer in even larger groups.
Elsewhere, Google is introducing a few upgrades to its Gemini Live visual assistant that build on the base the company debuted last year. To start, there are new visual indicators that will mask part of your phone’s screen to make it easier to see what Gemini is referring to when it answers a question. This feature will be available first on Pixel 10 devices before rolling out to other Android phones and iOS devices later. Separately, Google says it will soon release a new model that “dramatically” improves how Gemini uses key elements of human speech. For instance, you’ll be able to tell the assistant to speak slowly if you’re jotting down notes, and it will change its tone depending on the emotional nature of the topic you’re discussing.
The Pixel 10 family is available to per-order today, with general availability of the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL to follow on August 28. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold, Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Buds 2a won’t arrive at retail until October 9.
