In Summary
- Google’s Pixel 9 series is official.
- Alongside a new processor, bumped-up RAM, and improved cameras, the latest devices also pack several AI features.
- Below are six Pixel 9 AI features I’m excited about the most.
Google’s latest Pixel series, the Pixel 9, is official. Featuring a striking new design, the latest Google Tensor G4 chip, bumped-up RAM, and advanced cameras, the new devices look like Google’s most premium offerings till now.
But that’s not all. Google is bringing plenty of AI features to the Pixel 9 series to improve usability and offer advanced capabilities. Here’s a rundown of six Pixel 9 AI features I’m excited about the most.
Table of Contents
The Best Pixel 9 AI Features
Sl No | Feature | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Add Me | Allows users to be part of a group photo they capture by guiding another person to frame the shot and then stitching the images together. | Enables inclusion in group photos without the need for a tripod or extra help. |
2 | Pixel Studio | A built-in app that uses an on-device diffusion model and DeepMind's Imagen 3 text-to-image model in the cloud to generate images based on simple prompts. | Allows users to generate, customize, and share AI-generated images. |
3 | Pixel Screenshots | Simplifies saving, organizing, and finding screenshots by analyzing text and categorizing them, also adding notes for context. | Makes it easy to locate important screenshots and access their sources for actions like purchases. |
4 | New Magic Editor Capabilities | Enhances the Magic Editor with features like Auto Frame (reframing subjects using AI) and Reimagine (modifying elements like sky or ground based on user descriptions). | Simplifies complex photo edits and enhances creative control over images. |
5 | Gemini Live | An interactive voice assistant allowing natural, free-flowing conversations, even when the phone's screen is locked. | Provides seamless and intuitive interaction with the device for various tasks. |
6 | Ask About This Screen/Video | Lets users interact with content on their screen, such as creating lists from a YouTube video in Google Keep. | Enhances productivity and ease of managing tasks by leveraging AI to interact with and organize on-screen content. |
Add Me – Always be in the picture!
When you aren’t carrying a tripod, asking strangers to click a group photo of you with your friends or family is an obvious move. However, there are times when you can’t find a helping hand.
Google has a solution for such situations on its Pixel 9 devices. It’s called Add Me, and as the name suggests, it lets you be a part of a group photo that you, yourself, capture.
The way Add Me works on Pixel 9 devices is you first need to click a picture of your friends or family in a group and then ask someone to come and handle the device while you move to the appropriate location for the shot. The camera will then, using AR overlay, guide the person handling the camera to frame the shot accordingly and snap a picture. Once it finishes processing, it’ll stitch both captures into a single shot.
Pixel Studio – Create images with simple prompts
With AI image generation on the rise, Google is bringing a native AI image generator to its Pixel 9 devices. It’s doing this in the form of a built-in app called Pixel Studio.
Powered by an on-device diffusion model running on the Tensor G4 and DeenMind’s Imagen 3 text-to-image model in the cloud, Pixel Studio lets you generate images to your whims using simple prompts. Once done, you can change certain aspects of the generated images after the fact and do things like switch styles, add captions, or apply stickers to add a personal touch.
Besides, you can also share your AI-generated creations with your friends or family via Messages.
Pixel Screenshots – Organize your screenshots easily
Taking a screenshot on your Pixel phone is easy. But the same isn’t true about finding them, as you may amass hundreds of screenshots in your gallery over time, which can make finding the one you want quite a task.
Google is simplifying finding screenshots on its Pixel 9 devices with Pixel Screenshots. Pixel Screenshots is a simple app that simplifies saving, organizing, and recalling important information you may want to remember or find later. You can even add a note to screenshots for additional information or context.
Then, when you want to view a screenshot, simply type a relevant term in the search box. Since Pixel Screenshots analyzes texts in your screenshots, it’ll automatically find the matching screenshots and present them to you. Alternatively, if you categorized a screenshot when you captured it, you can head to the relevant folder to find it.
What’s also nice about Pixel Screenshots is that it remembers where you grabbed your screenshots. So, say you took a screenshot of a wallet you want to purchase or gift someone. Pixel Screenshots remembers its source and saves it, so you can access it via the screenshot and make the purchase, even at a later time.
Also See: 5 Google Photos Features Exclusive to Pixel 8 Series
New Magic Editor Capabilities – Enhanced photo editing
Magic Editor has become quite popular among Pixel users. Available on all Pixel phones, the feature makes performing complex photo edits, such as changing the sky tint or repositioning the subject, super easy.
Now, with the all-new Pixel 9 series, Google is enhancing the capabilities of Magic Editor with some new features to help you achieve the shot you imagined originally.
Auto Frame is one such feature. As the name implies, Auto Frame lets you reframe a subject in your photo after you’ve taken the shot. It does this using generative AI, which enables it to apply techniques like the rule of thirds or golden ratio to frame the subject properly.
Another Pixel 9 exclusive capability Google is bringing to the Magic Editor is Reimagine, which lets you reimagine how your photos look. This can be useful when, for example, you want to change the ground or sky in a captured shot. Simply select what you want to reimagine and describe what you want it to look like. Magic Editor will then use AI to modify the ground or the sky based on your requirements. Similarly, you can also add new objects to your pictures.
Gemini Live – Interactive voice assistant
Google is bringing its own version of interactive voice assistant to the Pixel 9 series. It’s called Gemini Live, and you can have a natural, free-flowing conversation with it to seek any help. This means you can interrupt it mid-sentence to ask a related question or pause a conversation and continue it later. The best part is Google says Gemini Live will work even when your phone’s screen is locked.
Gemini Live will be limited to Gemini Advanced subscribers only. It’ll also be available on Samsung and other Android phones.
Ask About This Screen/Video – Interactive content management
Another exciting Gemini feature Pixel 9 devices come with is Ask About This Screen or Ask About This Video. Basically, the feature gives Gemini the ability to see what’s on your screen, be it an image or a video, and then, based on your input, perform actions inside supported apps.
Google says you can use the feature to, for instance, create a list of items being talked about in a YouTube video in Google Keep. This can come in handy when preparing an itinerary or a must-try food list for your upcoming trip.
More Pixel 9 AI Features Coming Soon
In addition to the above, Google is offering a few more AI features on the new Pixel 9 phones. AI on the all-new Pixel Weather app is a notable one that promises to provide better forecasts and weather reports.
Then, you have a new personal assistant in the form of Gemini that you can use to get help with various day-to-day tasks. Similarly, Google is integrating Gemini with other Google apps, like Keep, to help you with everyday tasks like creating lists.
Besides its Pixel phones, Google is adding some AI features to its other newly launched Pixel devices, like the Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Buds Pro 2, as well. Among these, I’m most excited about the auto Bedtime Mode on the Watch 3 and the Tensor-enabled ANC on the Buds Pro 2.
