Pixel 9 phones could ship with a Microsoft Recall-like feature called "Google AI"

Rumor mill: The Google Pixel 9 series will make its official debut next month, and a series of leaks in recent weeks have revealed some of its key hardware specs and software features. A new report now claims that the upcoming smartphones will include an AI feature similar to Microsoft's Recall, which Redmond was forced to withdraw after protests from Windows users.

A tipster claims Pixel 9 devices will ship with an assortment of AI tools collectively called Google AI, similar to the Galaxy AI suite in the Galaxy S24 series. The tools will reportedly include Gemini, which will replace Google Assistant in the upcoming devices. It will also include "Circle to Search" and a couple of other innovative features that could elevate the user experience.

However, the most notable new AI feature in the Pixel 9 series is undoubtedly "Pixel Screenshots," which will leverage on-device AI to make all screenshots searchable. To do this, the Pixel 9 will store screenshots with additional metadata, including the name of the app, web links, and when the screenshot was taken. The report speculates that the AI model in charge of processing these images and answering user queries could be Gemini Nano.

While Pixel Screenshots sounds similar to Recall, there are a few key differences from Microsoft's ill-conceived AI tool. Unlike Recall, Google won't take automatic screenshots on the Pixel but will only use screenshots manually taken by the user. Furthermore, Recall was designed to be turned on by default, while Pixel Screenshots will be an opt-in feature, offering more control to users.

The Google AI suite in the Pixel 9 series will reportedly also include a feature called Add Me that uses AI to ensure "everyone's included in a group photo." There's not much information about Add Me, so it remains to be seen if it's similar to the Pixel 8's Best Take feature, which uses AI to combine multiple pictures into one great image.

The final new feature, called Studio, is an AI image generator similar to Apple's Image Playground. According to tipster Kamila Wojciechowska, Studio could be integrated with the Pixel's screenshot editor app to create "remix stickers" and more. We don't know much about Studio right now, but it will be interesting to see how capable it will be compared to Google's existing image- and video-generating model, Imagen 2.