Companies work on many products that sometimes never see the light of day. In Google’s case, it came in the form of Pixie, a digital assistant for the company’s Pixel phones. ‘Pixie’ ultimately did not launch and transformed into the Pixel Screenshots we all know today.
Google’s original vision for Pixie
The Information first revealed Pixie in a December 2023 report, describing it as an advanced “AI agent” that Google designed specifically for Pixel phones. It aimed to handle complex, multimodal tasks. This includes snapping a photo of a product and getting real-time directions to the nearest store that sells it. Pixie would have pulled information from other Google products and services like Gmail, Maps, and more. It would also be powered by Gemini.
Now, thanks to a new report from The Information, more details about Pixie have surfaced. According to sources familiar with the project, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai ordered the team working on Pixie to change direction to avoid direct competition with Gemini. Gemini would later replace Google Assistant as its AI-powered alternative.
But Google didn’t want to waste its efforts. Instead of scrapping Pixie entirely, Google split the project in two. One half of Pixie became the Pixel Screenshots app, a tool that lets users search for information from saved screenshots using Gemini’s Utilities Extension. The other half was integrated into Gemini’s broader capabilities.
Pixie’s spiritual successor—Pixel Sense
So, why does this matter? It matters because we might actually be getting a glimpse of Pixie’s spiritual successor in the Pixel 10. According to an earlier report, Google is getting ready to launch a new feature on the Pixel 10 called Pixel Sense. Pixel Sense will offer “predictive suggestions” and contextual notes, like surfacing names, products, or places just when you need them.
However, don’t expect a full-fledged assistant like Google Assistant or Gemini. If the reports are accurate, Pixel Sense appears to be a feature that works behind the scenes rather than in front and center. The upside is that it apparently runs on-device. This will make it faster and more privacy-focused than Gemini, which, for more complex tasks, requires a connection to Google’s servers.
