Google announces a ton of new AI features every month, and this year's annual developer conference, Google I/O, was no different. We might need to wait a while before some features showcased in the keynote address are widely available, but I'm convinced the AI smarts on the brand's Pixel phones already outdo other phones, especially those running Android.

Although Google has contentiously done little to address hardware concerns in models since the Pixel 7, we've seen a steady stream of additions to its repertoire of AI-powered features. Some of the older Pixel-exclusive features, like Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, and Circle to Search, slowly trickled down to the general Android populace. Here's a few more I think have a strong shot at making it global and device-agnostic.

Call Screening

Know who's calling without saying a word

This is a vastly underrated feature that takes care of calls from unknown numbers and suspected scam callers. You also get the option to screen calls from saved contacts, but when used, this feature answers the incoming call on your behalf in real-time using on-device AI. You can read a transcription of the conversation as it unfolds, with the AI typically asking who's calling and why. The system hangs up on spam callers without ever involving you actively, but your device rings normally otherwise, showing how the caller responded.

Automatic screening is currently available for all Pixel phones in the US, with a manual option available in a handful of other regions. With the latter option, you just need to activate Call Screen when your phone starts ringing. Moreover, you can configure it for three preset levels of protection on Pixel 8 and newer devices, while the Pixel 6 and 7 aren't as configurable in comparison. In all these cases, Call Screening is incredibly useful at handling spam and marketing calls without expending your valuable time. I cannot quantify the hours of sanity it saved and the heart ailments I've avoided.

Magic Editor

Saves time going the Photoshop route

This one barely scrapes through my criteria for compiling this list because you can now use Magic Editor features on all Android and iOS devices through the Google Photos app. However, you're capped at 10 saves for edited images on anything besides a Pixel or a Google On Premium plan with 2TB of storage or more. If enabled, you get the power of desktop-tier Adobe Photoshop-style tools, with what I'd argue are more intuitive editing controls.

You can encircle objects to reposition and resize them in the frame, complete with their shadow. I also find Magic Editor is great for fixing poor composition in images, with one-tap automatic fixes that offer four edited versions to pick from each time. When you pair a Pixel phone's pro-tier camera hardware with a little time and effort in Magic Editor, the results can be mind-blowing. This still needs a little empty space to play around within the image frame, but for on-device AI on a cloud-backed up image, you can get a lot done.

Transcription while recording

An accessibility feature that's also a convenience

I do a fair share of interviews and frequently need to use an assortment of recording tools in person. Few tools can hold a candle to the sheer reliability and feature set in the Recorder app native to Google's phones. This app uses Bluetooth or external mics when connected and has a live transcription window in-app so you can read along to follow the conversation.

I find this particularly useful if either speaker speaks a language I understand, because the transcription window also has an option to select the language of the on-screen text. Just remember you cannot change this for conversations recorded earlier. It doesn't auto-detect language like Google Translate would, and that would be super-nice to have someday soon, but speaker identification is on-point. Moreover, the entire transcript is searchable for keywords, and I can directly copy text from it to search the web while Recorder runs in the background. For on-device AI implementations that help me in real tasks, it's hard to beat this app, and it's only on Pixel.

Now Playing

A party trick until you need it on another phone

Now Playing is one of the older Pixel-exclusive features, so old it reminds me of Shazam. Apple bought that app in 2018 because it could identify music playing at a café or a tune you're humming. Google introduced Now Playing on Pixel devices back in 2017 alongside the Pixel 2, and it's only now making its way to the wider Android user base, nearly a decade later. A Play Store listing for it went live in February, but it still works only on Android 17 Beta builds, limiting access to Pixel users and some others.

Now Playing identifies whatever the mic catches playing and shows the info under the fingerprint scanner right on your lock screen. The phone also logs everything identified in the app with a timestamp. Though I might not see what song is playing at a café immediately, with my Pixel on me, I can get home, scroll through Now Playing, and see what it detected around 5PM. The app also offers links to YouTube and popular music streaming services for a seamless re-listen. It's not to like this application of on-device intelligence.

Google AI gives Pixels an edge

Consumers looking to buy a new phone know that hardware improvement has slowed to a crawl, as most brands focus on AI development. I could see why the general Android-using populace would not appreciate exclusion from these Pixel-exclusive features, but they give Google's otherwise ordinary hardware an edge over its more competitively priced rivals. Moreover, there are many more such features tucked away in the Pixel 10 series that haven't trickled down to older models yet, like Zoom Enhance.