The new battleground for smartphone features is apparently large-language-model intelligence. And, according to a new report, Google’s big AI salvo will launch next month with the upcoming PIxel 9 smartphone.
Citing “a source inside Google,” the website Android Authority is reporting that Google AI will be a key part of the Pixel 9 series when it debuts. That could happen as early as Aug. 13, when Google has a hardware event planned, a few months earlier than last year’s October launch for the Pixel 8 lineup.
A representative for Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the report, Google AI on the Pixel series will be a mix of existing Google AI features including Gemini, which is Google’s ChatGPT competitor, and some new features. The new features are said to include “Add Me,” which helps ensure everyone appears in a group photo and a creative-assistant feature called Studio for photos and stickers.
Another reported feature, Pixel Screenshots, sounds a lot like Microsoft’s controversial Recall feature. Recall was designed to capture activity on the phone, making it easier to find information later. After much criticism surrounding the idea that other people with physical access to a computer with Recall could access prior activities, Microsoft dropped that feature from the June 18 launch of new Copilot Plus-branded PCs.
If the report is valid, this positions Google’s phone AI features directly against Apple Intelligence, which is in beta and set to debut later this year with iOS 18 and Apple’s OS updates for Mac and iPad. The tech industry’s bet on artificial intelligence is that AI features such as virtual assistants and chatbots will become increasingly useful and ubiquitous, particularly on ever-present devices like smartphones. Among phone manufacturers, Samsung and Motorola are also in the fray, working on generative AI features for new phones.
Another recent leak about the Pixel 9 purports to be a video showing the design of a pink model. It was posted on X by a user named Hani Mohamed Bioud, who claimed the phone was already available in Algeria. The phone’s screen is not shown as active, so it’s difficult to tell if the device in the video is a prototype or genuine.
For a roundup on all the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro rumors and information we know so far, find more info on CNET.