Pixel Studio was introduced in 2024 with the Pixel 9 alongside Screenshots and Weather. In light of other Google image generation features and integrations, Pixel Studio is going away.
An update (version 2.2.001.864530193.00) to Pixel Studio on the Pixel 9 and 10 series this week begins this wind-down. The updated image editor, which is often used to edit screenshots, no longer has generative AI tools that let you edit with a prompt, create stickers, and delete parts of the image.
Instead, it’s now just for cropping, drawing, highlighting, and adding text. This editor was introduced last year to replace Markup and features a Material 3 Expressive interface.
Top comment by matteventu
Its not going to be a huge loss to most people, as 99.999999% of the features of Pixel Studio are now integrated within the Gemini app.
However, I must admit I used it quite a lot when I wanted to create quick stickers/images to send while not caring so much about the quality. I used it instead of the Gemini app so I wouldn't use my usage quota in Gemini.
That said, I hope that a result of Pixel Studio sunsetting, they will go back to the drawing board to redesign (again) a screenshot editing/markup tool. Both the first one (which had been present since like Android 8 or something) and the second one (released, if I remember correctly, with Android 15 QPRsomething and inherited from the editing tool built-in in Pixel Studio) have been nothing short of abysmal.
Old vs. new
While that part of Pixel Studio remains, the prompt-based image generation and sticker creator will go away in the future. Specifically, Google tells us today that it will “re-direct Pixel Studio users to Nano Banana in Gemini while offering an easy export tool for all your creations.” This is happening “over time,” while “all Pixel Studio powered integrations will continue to work as expected” for existing devices until then.
Google is instead focusing on image generation features like Remix in Google Messages and all the generative AI tools in Google Photos. Meanwhile, Nano Banana 2 was introduced for the Gemini app yesterday.
Pixel Studio is still using Imagen 4. Overall, this is not the biggest loss for Pixel users, and likely reflects how much use the app actually got since launch.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments