Google Unveils Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro with Enhanced AI Features
At a hardware event this morning, Google announced the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, its latest flagship smartphones. Among the highlights are a temperature sensor, off-device video processing, and enhanced photo-editing tools. But both also pack a significantly upgraded set of AI features courtesy of Google Assistant, Google’s AI-powered assistant tech.
Improved Assistant Capabilities
The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro boast improved capabilities with Google Assistant, which can now summarize, read aloud, and translate web pages. This is an advanced version of the "read aloud" feature that Google introduced on Android several years ago.
Google Assistant’s AI-Powered Summarization
Whereas Assistant previously read aloud every word on a web page, including unrelated content above and below articles, Google’s AI can now paraphrase what’s on screen into key points leveraging generative models (albeit not in every language or country just yet).
We’ll have to see just how accurate those summaries are — this reporter is a tad skeptical of AI’s summarization skills. But if it works as advertised, Assistant-driven summarization could be a useful, time-saving feature indeed.
Enhanced Voice Typing
Assistant voice typing on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro is twice as fast in English (Google claims) and allows you to type, edit, and send messages across multiple languages. Assistant automatically detects — and switches to — the language you’re speaking when transcribing voices.
More Natural Conversations
And Assistant now understands more natural conversations, picking up on pauses and disfluencies (e.g., "ahs" and "ums") for English users in the U.S. to start.
Improved Call Screen
Speaking of more natural conversations, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are among the first to benefit from Assistant’s more ‘realistic-sounding’ voice, which will engage with callers that users screen via Google’s Call Screen feature. (Call Screen, launched several years ago on the Pixel 6, can answer phone calls on a user’s behalf and provides features and options to deal with those calls.)
The Upgraded Call Screen
The upgraded Call Screen, underpinned by ‘multi-step, multi-turn conversational AI,’ employs a ‘more natural-sounding series of voice prompts’ to determine who’s calling and why — initially available for English-language callers.
Clear Calling, the background-noise-reduction feature that debuted on the Pixel 7, has been improved for clearer-sounding calls. And Call Screen is also now better at detecting and filtering out spam calls, Google says.
Contextual Repliies
During a demo at today’s event, Google showed the Assistant silently answering a call from an unknown number, having a back-and-forth conversation to determine if the call might be from a spammer. This will be extended further soon, Google says, with contextual replies that’ll let users navigate phone trees via the Assistant without having to take a call.
And Call Screen will come to the Pixel Watch later this year.
At a Glance Widget
Elsewhere on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, the Assistant-powered At a Glance widget has been improved. This feature provides users with personalized updates and information at a glance, without needing to unlock their device or open an app.
Enhanced Personalization
The updated At a Glance widget now uses machine learning to learn your habits and preferences over time, providing you with more relevant and timely information.
Conclusion
Google’s latest flagship smartphones are more than just powerful devices — they’re also packed with advanced AI features that will change the way you interact with your device. With improved Assistant capabilities, enhanced voice typing, and an upgraded Call Screen feature, these phones are set to revolutionize the way we use our mobile devices.
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