Google Pixel 8’s AI wallpapers appear to be coming to Samsung Galaxy in One UI 6.1

Ben Schoon | Dec 10 2023 - 4:14 pm PT

Samsung’s next big Android update, One UI 6.1, will add new features on top of Android 14, and it seems a big focus will be on AI features. According to newly leaked images, that includes Samsung using Google’s generative AI wallpapers that debuted on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, except on Galaxy phones.

AI is effectively the selling point of Google’s Pixel 8 series, with both phones packing AI features throughout, and the Pixel 8 Pro really doubling down with added AI, especially following the December 2023 Feature Drop which delivered Video Boost, the Gemini Nano on-device AI model for Recorder, and more.

One of the most fun features came in the form of AI wallpapers, an app on both Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro that lets users generate their own unique wallpaper designs using AI. No two wallpapers are alike, but users are limited to certain categories and choices when generating a wallpaper, and it only works with an internet connection.

Samsung, from the looks of it, will be using the generative AI wallpapers from the Pixel 8 for its Galaxy phones in One UI 6.1.

This was revealed by @BennettBuhner on Twitter/X, who posted screenshots this weekend from One UI 6.1 which show, among other things, generative AI wallpapers. Just like Google, users are given a general topic and then a set of options to create the wallpaper. In fact, the topic here, “Bloom” offers a prompt that says “a hazy image of lavender plants on a backdrop of red space galaxy.” And, on the Pixel 8 series, the exact same prompt is shown, with the same initial preview image.

That really can’t be a coincidence, which points to Google sharing this feature with Samsung.

As pictured below, the only difference between these two comes down to UI choices – Google’s preview is fullscreen whereas Samsung’s is more compact – and the Pixel says “Inspire Me” instead of “Surprise Me.”

Also noted in the threads of leaks, One UI 6.1 will apparently include weather effects on the lockscreen, an editor feature very similar to Google’s Magic Editor, “Auto Format” for notes, live translation during phone calls (as previously announced), voice isolation, and several more AI-powered photo editing features.

One UI 6.1 is likely not far away, with the update expected to be available at launch on the Galaxy S24 series.