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Here are the Pixel 9's new photo features in action (Update: Second video)
- Pixel Screenshots is getting ready to crawl through your phone’s storage to find that lost memory.
- Add Me will let you composite photos featuring subjects from separate exposures.
- And, of course, Gemini AI will be present to do its best answering your questions.
Update, July 26, 2024 (01:07 PM ET): You’d be forgiven for thinking at this point that Google wants these discovered and published to build up a little more pre-launch hype, but we’ve got yet another Pixel 9 promo video leaking today.
Consider this the sister video to the one we already shared with you, which centered on the Pixel 9 Pro (and Pro XL). This time around, though, it’s the smaller base model Pixel 9 that’s the star.
That leads to a slight shift in the focus of this clip, which doesn’t highlight photo features expected to be exclusive to the Pro models, like Super Res Zoom Video, and Add Me. While we do get a repeat of the Gemini and Pixel Screenshots action, the photo section here is dominated by Google’s AI-powered Magic Editor. We also have a nice look at the hardware design, including the four color options we’re expecting for the Pixel 9.
Original article, July 26, 2024 (11:25 AM ET): Is there anything better than a high-profile smartphone, just about to launch, that can’t help but keep leaking like a rusty colander? When it comes to the Pixel 9, nobody’s keeping secrets anymore, and if leakers aren’t sharing their latest Pixel 9 finds, it’s Google dropping the teasers itself. Today we’re checking out a video of a Pixel 9 ad that gives us our first real look at some of the new features set to debut with the hardware.
This minute-long clip is just the latest great find from leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka OnLeaks), who shares the footage with help of Android Headlines. The very official-looking Google ad understandably focuses quite a bit on Gemini, but we’re more interested in seeing some of the rest of this new functionality we’ve been hearing rumored in action. That starts with Pixel Screenshots, which has been characterized as a Microsoft Recall-like system for screenshots you take on your phone, using AI to let you search through their contents.
Here we see a user submit a few brief keywords describing a photo they remembered screengrabbing, including helpful context like whom the image was from, and the phone quickly pulls it up. We’ll be curious to see how well this works when your memory’s a little hazy and those details may not come as easily. We’ll also be interested in seeing how well it handles more text- and graphic-based content.
Another highlight is getting to finally witness Add Me in action. We initially didn’t know much about how this photo feature would operate, but this video quickly clears up any doubts: we see a group split up and pose against the same background twice, with different people in the shot. Then Add Me lets you combine elements from both photos to get the whole gang together in one pic — it’s like Best Take crossed with reverse Magic Eraser. We’d love to know if all your subjects need to be using the same general background like this, or if Add Me can composite subjects from more varied pics — though that’s probably asking too much, considering the lighting nightmare it presents.
While Google doesn’t emphasize “Pro” branding here much beyond a casual comment on its cameras, this is clearly not the base Pixel 9 we’re looking at with its three rear lenses. That’s most interesting at the very end here, with the “in two sizes” label referring not to the Pixel 9 and Pro, but the Pro and Pro XL — maybe Google still does have a few things it would prefer to hold back on until next month’s launch.