The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro haven’t launched yet, but Google has already teased new AI functionality for upcoming Feature Drops.
Recorder’s on-device voice transcription will soon be joined by a Summarize feature that works locally. On the Pixel 8 Pro, generative AI will turn what you recorded into a few bullet points. We were told this was coming in December.
In the “coming months,” the Pixel 8 Pro’s on-device LLM will power “higher-quality” Gboard Smart Replies that have “better conversational awareness.”
Similarly, a gen AI image model on the Pixel 8 Pro will make possible a Zoom Enhance that “intelligently fills in the gaps between pixels and predicts fine details.” This is for the times when “forget to zoom,” with Google equating it to sci-fi. Besides sharpening and enhancing image detail, Google believes this will let you “crop to what you want the focus of your photo to be” after the fact. This is “coming later.”
Call Screen will “soon” provide Contextual Replies that let you respond with on-screen chips. For example, if someone calls to confirm an appointment, you might get “Confirm” or “Cancel appointment.” Selecting the latter will result in the Assistant saying: “They wanted me to let you know that they’ve confirmed.”
Call Screen is also coming to the Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2 “in a feature drop later this year.” In addition to the transcript, it will show an answer, decline, and overflow button. It requires a Tensor-powered phone (Pixel 6 and newer).
Then there’s Assistant with Bard, with Google telling Pixel 8 users to “keep an eye out for how to try it.” However, the company did say it’s coming to iOS too. Following the unveil, Google plans to make it available for “select testers shortly.” The next step will be making it an “opt-in experience in the next few months.”
Meanwhile, Fitbit imagines using generative AI to “bring you personalized coaching, dynamic workout recommendations, and even more context and insight.” A Fitbit Labs program is coming “early next year,” with Pixel phone owners getting “priority access” to these AI-powered experiences.
In the Google Home app, gen AI will be used to summarize home events into a “streamlined view of what happened recently, with a quick and easy summary” using bullet points. You can also conversationally “Ask about your home” to find clips and get automations. The experimental features are coming to “subscribers next year.”
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