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Author: Li Dan

Source: Hard AI

Just two weeks after Apple launched its personal intelligent system Apple Intelligence on a "limited basis" on the iPhone, Google followed suit and began to widely promote the large language model (LLM) artificial intelligence (AI) of the Android operating system, and fully launched an AI assistant supported by its own model on its new generation of flagship smartphones.

On Tuesday, August 13, Eastern Time, Google announced that it would integrate the Gemini AI assistant into the Android system, which means that Android devices will have new AI functions assisted by Gemini. At the same time, Google released the first flagship smartphone Pixel powered by Gemini AI - the Pixel 9 series.

In a blog post at Google, Sameer Samat, president of Android Ecosystem, said:

“With Gemini, we’ve rebuilt the assistant experience from the ground up so you can talk to it as naturally as you would to a human. It can understand your intent, follow your train of thought, and complete complex tasks.”

Samat said that starting Tuesday, users can call up Gemini's overlay on top of the app they are using and ask questions about what's on the screen. Google said it will provide Gemini assistant on hundreds of phone models from dozens of device manufacturers.

Media comments said that Google's previous Android system had some AI features, and this is the first time that Google has emphasized the new features driven by the end-side LLM. Google currently does not have much revenue from its hardware business, and the latest Android features can help the company generate new revenue through the Gemini AI subscription plan.

Ben Bajarin, CEO and principal analyst at Creative Strategies, commented, "It's great to hear Google talk about reimagining the entire Android operating system and embedding AI deeply into the operating system. This is the table stakes for client operating systems, and Google, Microsoft, and Apple will all move along this path and demonstrate their strong value proposition to customers."

Bajarin believes that Google's positioning of AI as helping people complete daily tasks more easily and quickly is correct. Just one function can make everything people do every day easier. This is the core value proposition of generative AI.

After Google announced the launch of its new AI assistant for Android, some netizens welcomed it on social media, saying that Android will make life more convenient, but some users were wary, saying that no one with a brain would believe that Google would protect everyone's data privacy and security, and that users should have the legal right to delete these garbage on their phones, especially when Google is promoting it in Europe.

Gemini Live is available on Android phones first, only in English for premium subscribers

Google said that Gemini Live will first be available on Android phones and only in English. Google will start rolling it out to Gemini premium subscribers on Android phones on Tuesday, and will expand it to Apple's iOS system in the coming weeks and provide more language versions. In other words, premium subscribers on Android phones will be able to use the English version of Gemini Live on Tuesday.

Google introduced that Gemini AI includes the mobile conversation experience Gemini Live and the conversation overlay on Android. Gemini can also connect to more applications to provide daily help.

What can Gemini Live do? Google gives the example that users can use it to brainstorm, communicate with it directly online, and find jobs that may be suitable for the skills or degrees that users have. If you delve into a question, you can even interrupt Gemini in the middle of its answer, or pause the conversation with it and come back to continue the conversation later. With a mobile phone equipped with Gemini AI, it's like having a partner in your pocket, with whom you can chat about new ideas or practice important conversations.

Google said that users can easily experience Gemini Live without many manual operations, such as continuing to use the Gemini App when the phone is locked, so that you can continue to talk on the go, just like making a normal phone call. In order to make users feel that the conversation with Gemini is more natural, Google has launched 10 new voices to choose from, from which users can choose the Gemini tone and style that best suits them.

Gemini can use all Google App information to integrate calendar reminders, YouTube Music and other extensions

Regarding connected apps, Google said that Gemini can be integrated into all current Google apps and tools to help users complete various tasks, and it can complete tasks without users having to switch between apps and services.

Google will roll out new extensions in the coming weeks, including Keep, Google's note-taking and list feature, Tasks, a calendar reminder feature, Utilities, a feature that helps manage and adjust system and application software, and extensions on YouTube Music. Google said it is working to increase support for third-party extensions, which means developers may add Gemini options to their apps in the future.

Google gives an example, saying that if a user wants to host a dinner party, they can ask Gemini to find a lasagna recipe that a friend sent to the user in Gmail and ask it to add the relevant ingredients to the shopping list in Keep. If the guests of the user are college friends, they can ask Gemini to make a song playlist that reminds people of the late 1990s. Without the user providing too many details, Gemini can understand the needs and provide help.

Gemini can use information from Google apps to perform tasks. For example, Gemini can help you create a daily exercise plan based on your personal trainer's emails, or write a new job resume for you using the resume you already have in Google Drive.

Google also gave an example that through the upcoming calendar extension, users will be able to take photos of concert flyers and let Gemini check whether they are free to go to the concert. If the user has time to go according to the existing schedule, they can also let Gemini set a calendar reminder to remind the user to check the ticket price at the set time.

Android system context awareness function reads the screen to answer questions at any time and interacts with various mobile apps

Google said that Gemini can fully integrate into the user experience of the Android system and provide more context-aware features that are only available on the Android system. No matter what the user does on the Android phone, Gemini will provide help when the user needs it. Just long press the power button or say "Hey Google" and Gemini will appear, ready to help at any time.

Users can click on the “Ask about this screen” suggestion to get help with what’s on the screen. If you’re on YouTube, you can ask Gemini questions about what you’re watching. Let’s say you’re preparing to travel abroad and just watched a travel vlog. You can click on “Ask about this video” to ask Gemini for a list of all the restaurants mentioned in the video and have Gemini add them to Google Maps.

Because Gemini has built deep integration into Android, it can not only read the screen, but also interact with many apps that Android phone users already use. For example, users can drag and drop images generated by Gemini directly into apps such as Gmail and Google Messages.

Four Pixel 9 phones are equipped with Tensor G4 processors. The lowest price is $799. The foldable screen phone starts at $1,799.

Google released four Pixel 9 phones at the Made by Google hardware event on Tuesday. They are the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. All are now available for pre-order, with different official release dates.

Among them, the entry-level Pixel 9 is equipped with a 6.3-inch 120Hz OLED display, Google's new Tensor G4 processor, two rear cameras with 500,000-pixel standard wide-angle and 480,000-pixel ultra-wide-angle, 12GB RAM, and four colors. Its starting price is $799, with a basic storage capacity of 128GB, which is $100 more than the starting price of the previous generation Pixel 8 when it was launched. It will be available on August 22.

The upgraded Pixel 9 Pro is equipped with the same processor as the Pixel 9, but with higher RAM, a screen refresh rate of 1Hz to 120Hz, a third rear camera with a 48-megapixel telephoto lens, a higher selfie resolution, and 8K video recording. The Pixel 9 Pro starts at $999 with 128GB of storage and will be available on September 4.

The high-end Pixel 9 Pro XL is equipped with a larger 6.8-inch OLED display and a larger 5060mAh battery. The camera, processor and RAM are the same as the Pixel 9 Pro. The Pixel 9 Pro XL can also be charged faster with a wire. Google says that if you use a 45W USB-C charger, you can charge to 70% in about 30 minutes. The Pixel 9 Pro XL will be available on August 22 with 128GB of storage space and a starting price of $1,099.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is Google's second folding phone. It uses the same Tensor G4 processor as the Pixel 9 Pros and also has 16GB of RAM. Due to the limitations of the folding screen, the sensors configured for the three rear cameras of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold are relatively low-resolution and cannot shoot 8K video, with a maximum of 4K. When unfolded, its folding screen expands from 6.3 inches to 8 inches, with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold starts at $1,799 with 256GB of storage space and will be available on September 4.