Google Pixel smartphones have received several new features as part of the June Pixel Feature Drop that was rolled out earlier this week. One of the key updates that Google has rolled out improves the functionality of its Recorder app, with the addition of a new shortcut on the home screen. The app can also take advantage of the power of Google’s Gemini Nano Small Language Model (SLM) on devices like the Pixel 8 as well as the recently unveiled Pixel 8a.
Recording app on Google Pixel
In a blog post published earlier this week, Google announced new features for its smartphones. 9to5Google spotted a new shortcut for the Recorder app that appears as a red circle on a white background, which corresponds to a larger floating action button (FAB). This one Record a shortcut can now be placed on the home screen to quickly start recording.
This feature is speculated to give a boost to live transcription capabilities by allowing it to be accessed quickly. According to the publication, it is available with version 4.2.20240502.639621645 of the Recorder app on Pixel phones. Gadgets 360 staff members could not verify its availability.
Along with the new shortcut, Google said it’s bringing Gemini Nano, its SLM built for on-device tasks to other devices in the Pixel 8 series. While the flagship Pixel 8 Pro was already equipped with it, the Pixel 8 and 8a will now benefit from it. The SLM will be available for download in the developer options in the Pixel’s settings and will reportedly be around 1GB in size.
As a result, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a will now be able to deliver “more detailed download summaries” via the Summarize feature in the Recorder app. Meanwhile, Pixel 8 Pro users can now take advantage of speaker tags in conversation transcripts.
Google Gemini Nano is coming to Google Messages
In the Pixel Feature Drop for June, Google also announced a new and faster way for users to chat with Gemini in the Messages app. Although a similar function exists in the app, it takes a few steps before I can start a conversation.
With the update, the Gemini FAB reportedly now appears above the chat start icon. The feature is rumored to have been spotted during the removal of the APK version of the messages.android_20240610_01_RC00 version of the Google Messages app.
