AI has gotten so divisive that one of the world's leading tech brands is in no hurry to label all of its leading innovations as AI features.
On Wednesday, Google officially took the wraps off its new line of Pixel devices at its Made by Google event in New York, hosted by comedian Trevor Noah. Among the phones, watches, foldables, and earbuds announced, the flagship device was the new Pixel 11 family that bolstered its reputation as the world's best AI-first smartphone.
The Pixel 11 series has packed in new AI features that are very promising, based on my first impressions from the demos in New York as well as my first 24 hours with a review unit. Google isn't shying away from AI marketing hyperbole, saying Android is no longer an operating system but an intelligence system. Still, it made the adroit move of framing many of the best new features on their own merits.
"I think the word [AI] is actually a little scary," Sameer Samat, Google's president of Android ecosystem, told The Deep View, "and I think it kind of turns some folks off. So one of the things that we’re really trying to do is just talk about the benefits of the features… even if [we] never mention the word AI."
So far, these are the three AI-powered features that stand out the most:
Rambler voice keyboard: If you've used Wispr Flow, then you know how much faster it lets you input text than a keyboard and how much more accurate and easier to use it is than the traditional dictation on Siri or Google Assistant. But as good as Wispr Flow is on a computer, it's very clunky to use on both iPhone and Android. By contrast, Rambler is built directly into Google Keyboard (Gboard) and so it's as fast and as easy to access as the old dictation feature, but works so much more effectively.Magic Capture photos: The sleeper feature in Pixel 11 is the new Magic Capture mode. It's now a third capture mode alongside photo and video capture. When you switch into this mode, you can record a scene and then Magic Capture will automatically produce a video and use its algorithm to produce several still images that are the best high-resolution options (not screen grabs or low-quality frames). This is especially impressive with moving objects where it can freeze motion and pick the most dramatic pose.Multi-step tasks: You can now type or talk to your Pixel, describe a goal or series of actions you'd like it to take and it can carry out those tasks using an AI agent in a safe, sandboxed environment that you can monitor and that will prompt you for approval when it needs to carry out the final actions such as purchasing something, sending a message, and/or scheduling time on your calendar. I appreciate it that Google is slow-walking this one to help the broader public get comfortable with AI agents.
Our Deeper View #
There are a lot more AI-powered features on the Pixel 11, but from a long-term perspective, the agentic features are the most revolutionary and disruptive. That's why Google is both moving deliberately in rolling out agentic powers to its latest phones, while also shifting its marketing for Android to center the future of the platform around its agentic mission. "It's no longer an operating system that helps you use your phone," said Rick Oserloh, Google's SVP of devices, during the New York launch event. "It's an intelligence system that gets things done for you." Make no mistake, that's going to change the way you use your phone significantly in the long run. Today's phones are still focused on apps. Once the agentic paradigm sets in, tomorrow's phones will be more centered around tasks, goals, and actions. See my full interview with Android lead Sameer Samat on The Deep View Conversations for more on how that future is unfolding.