The only reason Google Pixel 9 Pro has better AI than any other smartphone

• 🤖 Google’s AI features are more consumer-friendly than its competitors

• 💬 It’s more than an AI chatbot, an image generator or a convo summarizer

• 🪄 Add Me is a consumer-friendly AI camera trick that corrects group photos

• 🤪 Best Take is a recurring example of AI integrated into key tools

• 📱 Pixel Screenshots uses Gemini Nano to catalog our endless screenshots

• 🆓 A free year of Gemini Advanced (worth $240) on the Pro versions helps

Before my hands-on Google Pixel 9 Pro in review will be a full review this week (the phones will be released on August 22nd) I have noticed that I have received more positive feedback from my friends and X-trailer about this Android phone than about any other smartphone in 2024. And it’s only been a few days since the Made By Google event on Tuesday.

There are several reasons for this sudden attention from the general public. The fact that there is now a 6.3-inch Google Pixel Pro as well as a 6.8-inch Google Pixel 9 Pro XL helps, the 42MP front camera upgrade will be a big deal for selfie enthusiasts, and the new ultrasonic fingerprint sensor will address a criticism many have. Pixel 8 Pro phone owner.

But if I had to guess why regular, non-technical people are starting to notice the Pixel 9 Pro, it boils down to two letters: AI. Or, more specifically, Google’s version of AI.

What I mean by “Google’s flavor of AI” is that it feels like the Pixel 9 has integrated AI into the everyday tools we use. For example, for the second year in a row, the Pixel camera received eye-catching AI features that immediately caught the attention of the general public.

I’ll give you three concrete examples (two new for the Pixel 9, one from last year) where Google stands out when it comes to AI, but let’s see why it’s different from the rest.

This is different from the other AI phones I have tested The abbreviationincluding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with Galaxy AI and my iPhone 15 Pro Max with iOS 18.1 beta. I appreciate chatbot tools and AI conversation summaries as much as anyone, but many of these ideas seem like ChatGPT or other LLM clones. Google’s Gemini Advanced offers similar functionality.

For every useful idea like AI-powered math notes or a conversational translator, there are what feels like 50 other demos that are either meaningless or generic and make AI seem like a gimmick. I don’t need to use generative AI to insert a hand-drawn hat into a photo. More generative, ayyy – eye roll at this one.

This year, “Add Me” is the AI ​​magic trick found exclusively in Google Pixel 9 phones – all four, starting with the $799 model Google Pixels 9 and the $1,799 Google Pixel 9 Pro FoldI was able to test this on the Pixel 9 Pro XL at the Made By Google event.

Add Me creates a composite photo so that the photographer can step into a group photo when a second photo is taken (and everyone else leaves). The ghosts of everyone else stay on the screen to guide whoever takes over the camera and presses the shutter button for the second photo. It’s pretty cool, and everyone at the demo station at the Made By Google event was impressed. It really works.

It feels like Add Me is solving a real consumer problem: relying on (and trusting) strangers to take group photos, or resorting to selfies where your whole body is out of the frame. It reminds me of the crucial software feature on last year’s Google Pixel 8: Best Take.

Best Take is the AI ​​head swap photo effect that lets you swap the heads of people in a group shot. Suddenly, getting everyone in one picture to smile and open their eyes became easier when you could take a series of photos and mix and match the heads.

We’ve all been there. Sometimes you look your best in picture #1, and the whole family looks even better in picture #2 (but you look terrible). You don’t have to choose between uploading picture #1 silently (that’s selfish) or making yourself look bad by uploading picture #2 (reluctantly). Best Take lets everyone put your best selves forward. No one else has copied this groundbreaking feature in 10 months.

I should add: In my Google Pixel 8a reviewI mentioned that it was nice to see Google add Best Take to its cheaper $500 phone. Compare that to the Compatibility with Apple Intelligence List to see how Google and Apple further differ in the area of ​​AI.

What I not At the Google Pixel 9 launch event, you’ll be able to test out another feature that’s been getting a lot of attention: Pixel screenshots. That will have to wait until my full review.

Pixel Screenshots is a dedicated app that uses Gemini Nano with multimodality to automatically process information in a screenshot (such as a restaurant address or a receipt) and metadata, Google says. The Pixel 9 app generates AI-powered titles and summaries, and can go a step further by setting reminders or adding details to your Google Calendar when it detects events.

My friend at the Gogole Pixel event mentioned that he has an astronomical amount of unorganized screenshots stored on his phone: more than 4,000. I looked at my photo library. I have 14,000 screenshots. Oops. Being able to organize and access information with Gemini Nano could be a game changer for my addiction to “screen everything.”

As I was flying back from the Google event, a friend said, “I’m sick of these ChatGPT clones.” We want those tools, but we want something more unique. I’ll love getting a year of Google’s Gemini Advanced (a $240 value) for free while I test drive the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, but it’s nice to see Google offering bolder AI ideas, too.

Even though Google’s LLM is the best on the market, it also offers exclusive, user-friendly features. And the mainstream hype around Add Me and Pixel Screenshots proves that it’s having an impact on interest in the Google Pixel series.