Google Assistant Enhanced on Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro: Exciting Upgrades and New Features

Google Unveils Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro: Cutting-Edge AI Features and Enhanced Functionality

This morning at a hardware event, Google introduced its latest flagship smartphones, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Key features include a temperature sensor, off-device video processing, and advanced photo-editing tools. Both devices are also equipped with a refreshed set of AI capabilities powered by Google Assistant.

On the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, Google Assistant enhances the browsing experience by summarizing, reading aloud, and translating web pages. This marks a significant upgrade from the previous "read aloud" feature, which read entire web pages verbatim. Now, Google Assistant employs generative AI models to distill content into key points, although this feature may not yet be available in all languages or regions.

While skepticism remains regarding the accuracy of AI-generated summaries, if successful, this new feature could save users valuable time.

In addition, voice typing with Google Assistant on these devices is reported to be twice as fast in English, allowing seamless typing, editing, and sending of messages in multiple languages. The Assistant automatically detects the language being spoken for accurate transcription. Furthermore, Assistant has improved its ability to comprehend natural conversations, recognizing pauses and fillers like "uhs" and "ums," which will initially benefit English-speaking users in the U.S.

The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro also introduce a more natural-sounding voice for Assistant, enhancing user interaction during calls screened through Google’s Call Screen feature. Call Screen, originally launched with the Pixel 6, allows the Assistant to answer calls on behalf of users and offers options for managing these calls. The upgraded Call Screen now utilizes advanced conversational AI, featuring a more realistic voice that assists in identifying callers and their purposes—initially available for English-language calls.

Additionally, Google's Clear Calling feature, which reduces background noise for clearer conversations, has been refined for better call quality. The Call Screen is now also more adept at detecting and filtering spam calls.

During a demonstration at the event, Google showcased how Assistant can silently converse with callers from unknown numbers, efficiently determining if the call is spam. Google plans to expand this feature further, introducing contextual replies that enable users to navigate phone trees without answering a call. Excitingly, Call Screen will also be available on the Pixel Watch later this year.

On the home screen, the Assistant-powered At a Glance widget has received a design update, displaying a broader range of useful information, such as updates on travel and event tickets.

These enhancements represent the first tangible evidence of Google's shift toward a generative AI-centered approach with Google Assistant. Earlier this year, Axios reported that Google aims to "reboot" Assistant, emphasizing the development of new generative AI capabilities that will integrate with Bard, Google’s alternative to ChatGPT. Notably, the event featured several new Assistant functionalities linked with Bard.

As seen with previous Assistant upgrades on new Pixel models, we anticipate that many of these innovative features will make their way to older Pixel devices in the coming months.