Google Pixel 9 Series, Watch 3, and Buds Pro 2 Get New AI Features at the Made by Google Event

Google Pixel 9 series, Pixel Watch 3, and Pixel Buds Pro 2 were introduced by the company at its annual Made by Google event on Tuesday. Alongside new hardware, the tech giant also announced several new artificial intelligence (AI) features for all the devices such as the new Pixel Screenshot and Pixel Weather apps, new camera and editing features, and a better integration of Gemini AI assistant. Here is a roundup of every single AI feature announced at the event for easy reference.

Gemini AI Assistant Upgrade

In a blog post, the tech giant revealed that Gemini AI assistant, which was added to Pixel smartphones and supported Android devices is now getting smarter and more capable. Pixel 9 series will no longer feature Google Assistant as the default assistant, although users will have the option to go back to the “legacy assistant”.

While becoming the default option, Gemini also gets several new capabilities. Google says it can now handle complex queries and accepts text, images, and voice as input methods. Further, the AI assistant is also being integrated with several Google apps such as Gmail, Maps, and more. So, users can also ask queries that require access to those apps. For example, users can ask Gemini about an email they received last week. Gemini Live, which was demoed during the event, will also be available to those who subscribe to Gemini Advanced.

AI-Powered Image Editing

Camera performance and editing features have always been a forte for Pixel smartphones. With the Pixel 9 series, the company is introducing three new AI-powered features. The first is Add Me, a feature that lets missing people from a group photo be added to it. Google pitches this feature as a way for the person taking the picture to also be a part of the photo.

Auto Framing feature in Pixel 9 series
Photo Credit: YouTube/Made by Google

When a user clicks an image in this mode, the AI will ask the photographer to trade places with someone and stand in front of the same background. The AI will also assist the new photographer in aligning the frame and resetting the photo.

Apart from this, Magic Editor is also getting a couple of features. First is auto framing which realigns the photo to bring people or objects in focus. Users can see multiple variations of this and select the one they prefer. The second feature is an extension of the AI-generated sky feature added with the Pixel 8 series. It now allows users to type a prompt to generate the kind of background they want to create.

New AI Apps for Pixel 9 Series

The Pixel 9 series is also getting three new apps with AI capabilities. The first is Pixel Studio which is an AI image generator. Google says it is powered by an on-device diffusion model which runs on the Tensor G4 chipset and the Imagen 3 AI model in the cloud. The image generator offers features such as style changes, sticker creation, and inline editing.

Pixel Screenshots app
Photo Credit: YouTube/Made by Google

Second is a Screenshots app, which uses AI to recall information from screenshots stored on the device. The feature is similar to the recently announced Recall feature for Windows, however, Google’s app does not capture screenshots on its own. It simply uses a multimodal AI model and the screenshots folder as its database to find the queried information.

The last is the new Pixel Weather app. Visually, it is a minimalist app based on the weather interface on the Google app. The company says it uses AI to offer traditional weather reporting and more accurate forecasts. The app uses Gemini Nano to generate custom weather reports. The different weather information can also be moved to create a customised appearance.

Other AI Features in Pixel 9 Series

Apart from these, two other AI features have also been announced for the smartphones. First is an improvement in Google Keep, which now utilises Gemini to create a list of anything the user might need. The second is dubbed Call Notes and it can save a summary of conversation after a phone call. The transcript will be available in the phone log in case the user needs to check any information.

AI Features in Pixel Watch 3

While the Pixel phones have received a bigger share of AI features, Google has also announced several new AI features for the Pixel Watch 3. The smartwatch now uses AI and machine learning (ML) to automatically detect when the user goes to sleep and when he wakes up. Based on this information, the watch turns the Bedtime mode on and off.

Pixel Watch 3 AI features
Photo Credit: YouTube/Made by Google

AI is also being used for motion sensing and data analysis in the Pixel Watch 3. The AI system can show a detailed analysis of different advanced running metrics such as cadence, length and height of strides, and ground contact time to help users improve the running form. Google AI also offers daily run recommendations.

The Pixel Watch 3 is also getting the Call Assist feature from the Pixel 8 series which enables users to screen spam calls and ask them to hold.

AI Features in Pixel Buds Pro 2

Finally, a couple of useful AI-powered features have also made their way to the Pixel Buds Pro 2. The Tensor A1 chipset uses AI and ML to offer twice as much noise cancellation as the Buds Pro, claims Google.

Pixel Buds Pro 2 will also let users talk to Gemini without accessing the smartphone. The earbuds support hands-free access to Gemini and using its voice mode, users can get information while on the go.