Aside from the event earlier this year, Google’s use of “magic” to tease the Pixel 9 Pro is what stands out to me.
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There’s “Don’t miss the magic” on the Google Store homepage and “Get ready for magic at #MadeByGoogle” that serves as social post which was widely distributed. Compared to last year, the teaser (and event invite) is already making a clear reference/connection to AI, implying that Gemini will be responsible for these magical experiences.
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The “magical” product experiences range from the “just works” to something so futuristic you’d be surprised it’s possible with today’s technology. To date, Google has named three features with “Magic”. The first two are in Google Photos — Editor and Eraser — while the third is in Google Messages — Compose.
Looking at what Google has in store, I think Gemini Live is the most likely thing to lead that “magic” quote for the Pixel 9 series. Live is pitched as the way to have more “natural conversations” with Gemini. The “state-of-the-art speech technology” is credited with allowing you to “speak at your own pace or interrupt your response with clarifying questions.”
The feeling of talking to a real human—with 10 voices to choose from—may be enough to wow people and encourage basic use of Gemini, especially for those unfamiliar with text-based chatbots. For me, the most interesting aspect of Gemini Live on mobile is whether it serves as a precursor to availability on next-generation smart displays and speakers.
Then there’s Project Astra’s upcoming camera capabilities that let you point the world and ask questions. As we wrote last week, Google’s goal is to create an AI assistant for the real world. Being able to point the phone at something and add a voice question to get help is a key part of that. However, the “later this year” timeframe for the Astra makes me think it won’t be ready in time for the Pixel 9 launch, with a feature drop in December looking more likely.
Meanwhile, the feature I’m most excited about is Ask Photos powered by Gemini. The launch of this Google Photos feature on the Pixel 9 makes a lot of sense. It basically turns your library of images and videos into a repository of knowledge about you. This seems like it could be much more helpful in my personal life than Gemini.
Since it’s the Pixel, we need new camera capabilities, and I think Zoom Enhance should be the marquee capability. Announced at the end of last year’s keynote, it’s still not on the Pixel 8 Pro. At this point, Google could very well keep it as the main feature of the Pixel 9 Pro, especially in advertising.
Last year, the Call Assist suite – Call Screen, Direct My Call and Hold for Me – benefited from new AI that is said to reduce unwanted calls by 50% on average, a more natural-sounding voice and the ability to ask if a call its urgent. More features here seem inevitable as the technology improves.
The other big update for the Gemini Nano is multimodality where the model can process audio, images and video. Examples the Android team shared at I/O are Dynamic Suggestions where Gemini understands what’s on your screen, TalkBack for rich image descriptions, and real-time fraud alerts.
Android – which is now part of the same division as hardware – referring to the keynote was very new. Since this merger is still fairly recent, I suspect this is the year we’ll see real integration, so the new Gemini Nano could be the extension of that work.
What would you consider magical about the Pixel 9? Call it down!
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