After citing "hardware limitations" as the main reason why the Google Gemini Nano won't appear on the cheaper Pixel 8, the tech giant appears to have found a way to make it work.
According to TechCrunch , Google has announced plans to launch on-device AI features on Pixel 8, such as record summaries and smart replies. These features have previously been locked to the Pixel 8 Pro, and Google said it has no plans to introduce these Nano-powered features to the Pixel 8 due to differences in hardware.
For the most part, Google relies primarily on AI-driven features that rely on the cloud. But now that the company is bringing its functionality to the device, it will (hopefully) open a lot of doors for faster processing and response times.
Interestingly, Google backtracked on its claim that Nano-powered features would not work on the Pixel 8. It's possible that the company didn't find a way to make it run on less RAM than the Pixel 8. 8 Sports – It only offers 8GB RAM, while the Pixel 8 Pro comes with 12GB RAM. However, after some "testing and verification," the company is ready to roll it out to Pixel 8 in the latest Android developer build.
This is great news for Pixel 8 owners, as Google looks to continue bringing new Nano features to the base Pixel 8 series of devices. And if the company can get the AI to work on that base model, it might also be able to work on the upcoming Pixel 8a, which is rumored to contain very similar specs to the mainline Pixel 8 series.
Of course, there was a lot of fuss when Google said the Pixel 8 wouldn't offer Nano-powered features. Most notably, the "hardware limitations" reasoning given makes it look like a strategy to drive Pixel 8 Pro sales to consumers.
However, with Samsung bringing Galaxy AI capabilities to older Galaxy devices, Google claims such questions are moot, especially since many of the same features in Samsung phones rely on Google's AI development to run.
Although Google said it will start testing these AI features in the next developer version of Pixel 8, it has not yet given an actual release date for the AI features.
