The Pixel 8 Pro's Biggest Update Adds Google's New Gemini Nano AI

Two months after Google rolled out its fall update for Pixel devices, the company has shared details of the much more significant December feature drop. Aside from several interesting and useful features, the major highlight of this feature drop is the introduction of Google's new AI model Gemini on the company's flagship smartphone, the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

The smartphone-focused version of Gemini is called Gemini Nano, and this AI model is designed from the ground up for on-device tasks. While the possibilities enabled by Gemini on the Pixel 8 Pro are immense, for now the tool will be primarily used to power two key features. The first feature is called Summarize and can be found within the Pixel 8 Pro's sound recorder app, where it will generate a summary of a recorded conversation.

The second feature enabled by Gemini Nano is the new smart reply feature that will be embedded within Google's keyboard app, Gboard. If not evident from the name, this feature will provide appropriate responses to messages on supported messaging apps, which is currently only WhatsApp. Google's Tensor G3 chip powers both of these features, and the latest Pixel Drop is being rolled out to devices as you read this in a process expected to last a couple of weeks.

In addition to the Gemini AI-powered features, Google revealed that the December 2023 Pixel Drop also includes a new set of video-focused tools, the most important of which is Video Boost. Included in Video Boost are various video-focused improvements enabled by Google's advanced computational photography models. This feature lets Google adjust several video parameters like color, lighting, stabilization, and graininess to come up with a video that looks much better than the original footage.

Another key addition to Video Boost is the inclusion of Google's Night Sight tech to videos. This feature uses AI to apply advanced noise reduction algorithms to improve videos captured under low and challenging lighting conditions. Do note, however, that these features are not processed on the device and require users to upload the original footage to Google Photos. Another feature addition to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro is a new Night Sight in Timelapse mode, which improves the already excellent nighttime timelapse capturing capabilities of the Pixel 8 series.

In addition, Google has also made improvements to Photo Unblur, while Google Pixel Fold users receive a new Dual Screen Preview feature that makes posing for pictures easier. Other notable additions include the ability to use Pixel smartphones (Pixel 6 and above) as a webcam, improved Google Password Manager, and a repair mode that ensures that user data is safe if a phone is sent in for repairs.