Pixel Sense Is Google's New AI Assistant And It's Headed To The Pixel 10
In the beginning there was Google Voice Search, followed by Google Assistant, and most recently Gemini. Soon however, there might be a new assistant in town called Pixel Sense, something Mountain View claims to finally merge AI-generated predictions (Gemini) with a smart helper (Google Assistant). The new assistant will reportedly run completely on-device, pulling all data from users' Google apps to create a contextually aware and personalized, well, personal assistant.
An exclusive report over at Android Authority has revealed how Google is developing a version of the ill-fated Pixie project. Pixie was conceived to make Google Assistant more personal by pulling data from Google apps to carry out more complex and multimodal tasks, such as suggesting where you can buy that pair of Nike Vaporflys you just photographed. There were rumors that Pixel 9 phones would launch with Pixie, but obviously that came and went.
However, new information strongly suggests that Pixie—now in the form of Pixel Sense—will arrive with the Pixel 10. Pixel Sense will leverage and process data every nugget of data from every Google app you have installed, such as Gmail, Docs, Maps, Calendar, Keep, Wallet, etc., and suggest as well as predict specific actions, products, and content based on how you use your phone. It's quite similar to what Nothing is doing with its latest Phone (3a) and Samsung's Now Brief, except turned up a few notches in capability.
Taking Google app data and dumping it into a large language model like Gemini ought to help Pixel Sense proactively (and preemptively) know what you need, but at this point, that's an assumption rather than a surety. We are also curious how Google plans on scaling Pixel Sense beyond Pixel phones. Deeming Pixel Sense as a Google Assistant replacement doesn't mean that the rest of the Google ecosystem like its smart home products, Pixel Tablet or Android Auto will see that upgrade. Sure, the hardware required to run AI requires something like a Tensor processor or dedicated NPU, but we've seen how Google has shafted its product lineup (and customers) before, i.e. its promise to bring Gemini to new Nest Hubs.
Another factor to consider is data privacy and control. The report states that Pixel Sense will run completely on the device (using Gemini Nano) without connecting to Google servers. It'll be interesting to see how Google manages this tricky bit; perhaps robust privacy/permission controls would help allay user's fears.
