Google Shifts Android Development to Fully Private Mode

In a significant move, Google has announced that it will be transitioning to fully private development of the Android operating system after 16 years. This change, confirmed by Google to Android Authority, aims to streamline the development process and reduce discrepancies between public and internal branches.

Previously, Google shared some development work on the public AOSP Gerrit. Now, all development will occur internally. Google has committed to publishing source code to AOSP after each release. While AOSP accepts third-party contributions, Google primarily drives development to ensure Android’s vitality as a platform.

Mishaal Rahman makes one thing clear over on Mastodon:

“Just to be clear: Android is NOT becoming closed source!

Google remains committed to releasing Android source code (during monthly/quarterly releases, etc.) , BUT you won’t be able to scour the AOSP Gerrit for source code changes like you could before.”

This shift will likely have minimal impact on regular users and most developers, including app and platform developers. However, external developers who actively contribute to AOSP will experience reduced insight into Google’s development efforts. Reporters will also have less access to potentially revealing information previously found in AOSP patches. Google has stated that it will announce further details and new documentation on source.android.com.

Dear Google: Let’s Talk About the Pixel (Comments from Reddit)

A 13 year long iPhone customer, finally made the switch from iPhone to the Google Pixel 9 Pro and he shared some great feedback about his experience using Pixel. Some of them are just the difference from being in a closed-ecosystem, controlled by one company and moving to a more open-ecosystem semi-controlled by one company, but with the philosophy of an open-ecosystem. If that makes sense. I provided my comments to the person’s post on reddit. I’ve share them below. The original redditor’s comments are in the green. Mine are in between. Enjoy.

I love all of these suggestions and would welcome all of these, but I’d like to share my thoughts on these. I’ll skip the first one since that was positive feedback.

2. Improve the Tensor Chip

Make the Tensor chip as fast as the top-tier Snapdragon or the latest iPhone’s chip. I’ve noticed some lag, especially when gaming. Sure, 99% of people don’t game heavily on their phones, but when you have an iPhone, you know it can handle it if you want. That’s a feeling of security.

I think this is coming with time. Both Qualcomm and Apple have been making their own chips for more than a decade now. Google partnering with Samsung in their Tensor White Chapel and newer chips was to jumpstart Google’s experience in making their own chips, while still being able to customize the and tweak the AI experience on their own devices. Similar to how Apple learned from Intel before switching to their own silicon. Overall, I think this is coming, but with a caveat. Google will more than likely rely on the combination and collaboration of Cloud computing. So raw power locally won’t always been the focus. Especially since it requires a whole lot more R&D, will eat into margins, and they’ll more than likely raise the price of devices even more than the usual economical increases.

3. Enhance Video Recording

You guys take incredible photos, so keep it up. But please work on getting the video quality closer to iPhone levels—especially when switching lenses mid-recording.

I think you’re right on with this and I think Google is surely advancing here. Even adding their own custom ISP as well as replace “BigWave” (Google’s in-house video codec) with WAVE677DV suggesting that the latter may offer advantages in areas such as performance, power efficiency, or a combination of factors, along with the added benefit of multi-format support on the new Tensor G5 chip coming this fall.

4. Optimize Your Own Apps

Some Google apps are smoother on iPhone than on Pixel. Why is Google Maps smoother on iPhone, for example? Please optimize your apps to perform best on your own phone.

I’ve actually found Google Maps works better on Pixel than it has on iPhone. At least for me in the past. This is obviously anecdotal.

5. Get Third-Party Apps Onboard

Make sure popular social media and messaging apps are optimized for Pixel. This is crucial for everyday use.

I want this to, and Google has worked with IG, Snap, and the YouTube team for a few years and has added some exclusives that aren’t available on iOS. Like Night Sight in Instagram, Live video switching between Pixel’s, and Live Transcribe. Still there is a lot more work that needs to be done and the CameraX API is the key. Fragmentation is the issue here and Google having to balance prioritizing Pixel or Android comes into play.

6. Merge Google Meet & Messages

Consider blending Google Meet and Google Messages into one seamless experience (similar to FaceTime, iMessages). It would simplify communication across Android ecosystem.

From my understanding, it’s the same. Messages and Facetime are two completely different apps. You can uninstall Facetime and still have Messages. I assume that when you can uninstall Messages on iOS, you can still use Facetime. I might not fully understand what you mean here, but I think they are pretty similar. I think WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal are the only ones that truly have it blended. But, AFAIK Google Meet and Google Messages are to what Apple Facetime and Apple Messages are today in terms as a seamless experience.

7. Add Built-In Magnets

Implement magnets inside the phone (like MagSafe on iPhone). There are tons of accessories that rely on this feature.

I’m not opposed to this, but is it absolutely needed? Most people have a case on their phone. Does the Pixel need magnets if more cases have magnets? I think that’s up for debate. I know a lot of people like to go caseless, but anecdotally, for every caseless courageous person I see in public, I see 10 cas(r)eful cautious people.

8. Strengthen the Ecosystem

One major reason people stick with iPhone is because of Apple’s ecosystem. Web apps are fine, but if possible, create native desktop apps (Messages, video calling, Notes, Reminders, Calendar, Photos, etc.) for both Mac and Windows. That would help lure more people in.

Would native desktop apps do that? Why? To what metric? What benefit do customers get from having a native Messages app as opposed to a Web one? Web apps don’t take up space on the local machine and web apps can be wherever you are. If the features are consistent between the two, I don’t see the want and need for that.

As for the ecosystem, I agree, and that definitely takes a lot more time because Google can’t and probably won’t force any OEM, Developer, etc… to do things that solely benefit Google. Apple can and does do that at the expense of third-party accessory makers and developers.

9. Bolster Core Android Features

Keep improving Android at its core. Make it even more robust, smooth, and user-friendly.

No notes. This is good. Progression is good.

10. Elevate the Watch Experience

The Pixel Watch needs more attention. Aim to match (or beat) the Apple Watch’s functionality, integration, and polish.

I hear this a lot but I don’t think people are ready to spend $700 to $800 on a Pixel Watch. It’s still new and getting as many Pixel Watch experiences out of the door as possibly is more important with the balance of providing premium fitness experiences. I think for Google only having made 3 watches, they’ve done great. Remember, Samsung and Apple have had watch accessory businesses for at least 10 years. That comes with time, but Pixel is advancing at a fast pace. With all that said, I do think the Pixel Watch needs smoother animations and better loading performance. UX journey in and out of apps need to be a lot more polished with animations coming from a specific point on the screen instead of just appearing.

Lastly, a Big One:

Google is known for killing projects quickly, which might be great for engineers, but from a customer’s standpoint, it shows a lack of long-term commitment. When you launch something, it’s hard for us to fully adopt it because we suspect it’ll be discontinued. That attitude does more harm to your reputation than anything else. Please rethink it.

I LOVE this one and totally agree. I think because of the massive backlash and killing of extra weight/messaging apps, Google is at a lean place that seems to be holding on to things as they are today. Google Assistant going away isn’t a killing. It’s an evolution. However, there are times where it makes sense to kill something that just isn’t working or hasn’t been working for years now.

This is great feedback from a long-time iPhone customer. Some things just don’t apply to Android and even Google. I will say, though, that if you expect Google to completely control and force their hand on things like Apple does, you will be disappointed.

Pixie never was, but is Screenshots?

‘Pixie’ was a canceled Pixel assistant that became Pixel Screenshots

This report comes from a combination of The Informational and 9to5Google.

“…after a leadership review, employees working on the product were told Pichai had ordered a change of direction to ensure the new product didn’t compete with the Gemini assistant, which operates across all of Google’s Android devices, according to a person with direct knowledge of the instructions.”

From a consistency standpoint, this makes sense. Google’s history is stained with a lot of half-cooked up duplicates of messaging platforms and this would’ve been another one of those. I’m glad they went with the larger scale Gemini plan instead. I do hope that Google provides a way to make Gemini more contextual with what’s on-device.

I’ve always wanted to put together a buying guide for the Google Pixel. After a 9 generations of Pixel phones, it’s pretty easy to know which Pixel is designed for what customer.

Check out the Ultimate Pixel 9 series Buying Guide.

Auto-generated description: A lineup of five Google Pixel phones is displayed, each with a light-colored back and the Google logo.

Inside Google's Deep Mind

“Inside Google’s Two-Year Frenzy to Catch Up With OpenAI” by Paresh Dave and Arielle of Wires

To build the new ChatGPT rival, codenamed Bard, former employees say Hsiao plucked about 100 people from teams across Google. Managers had no choice in the matter, according to a former search employee: Bard took precedence over everything else. Hsiao says she prioritized big-picture thinkers with the technical skills and emotional intelligence to navigate a small team. Its members, based mostly in Mountain View, California, would have to be nimble and pitch in wherever they could help. “You’re Team Bard,” Hsiao told them. “You wear all the hats.”

In January 2023, Pichai announced the first mass layoffs in the company’s history—12,000 jobs, about 7 percent of the workforce. “No one knew what exactly to do to be safe going forward,” says a former engineering manager. Some employees worried that if they didn’t put in overtime, they would quickly lose their jobs. If that meant disrupting kids’ bedtime routines to join Team Bard’s evening meetings, so be it.

I remember, not long ago, when Bard was announced and feeling like Google was being left behind. Bard felt safe and rushed and plenty of people were calling OpenAIs ChatGPT the next Google if not just fully replacing Google. Reading through this profile proves to me that OpenAI being the new player in the game of innovation, not having as much guardrails, was perfect for Google to ignite competition within their walls.

Josh Woodward, lead on Google Labs, explains the vigor within Google:

“AROUND 6:30 ONE evening in March 2024, two Google employees showed up at Josh Woodward’s desk in the yellow zone of Gradient Canopy. Woodward leads Google Labs, a rapid-launch unit charged with turning research into entirely new products, and the employees were eager for him to hear what they had created. Using transcripts of UK Parliament hearings and the Gemini model with long context, they had generated a podcast called Westminster Watch with two AI hosts, Kath and Simon. The episode opened with Simon speaking in a cheery British accent: “It’s been another lively week in the House, with plenty of drama, debate, and even a dash of history.” Woodward was riveted. Afterward, he says, he went around telling everyone about it, including Pichai.

The text-to-podcast tool, known as NotebookLM Audio Overviews, was added to the lineup for that May’s Google I/O conference. A core team worked around the clock, nights and weekends, to get it ready, Woodward told WIRED. “I mean, they literally have listened at this point to thousands and thousands” of AI-generated podcasts, he said.”

I personally thought NotebookLM was incredibly impressive when I was in attendance at I/O 2024. It felt like Google Duplex, but on steroids. It felt like Google had been woken up from a slumber of complacency and lack of competition really gunning for them. Just looking at their AI Journey page shows just how quickly things ramped up after 2021. I think Google is still just getting started. My prediction is that within these next two years, Google is going to ship even more fleshed out products across their Platform and Services team.

The Ultimate Pixel 9 Buying Guide

Auto-generated description: A lineup of five Google Pixel phones is displayed, each with a light-colored back and the Google logo.

It might seem like Google's Pixel lineup is straightforward, but with the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, there are key differences to consider. While all Pixel 9 phones handle core smartphone tasks like communication, photography, and app usage, the distinctions lie in processing power, display technology, camera capabilities, and size. This guide, inspired by a will break down each Pixel 9 model, highlighting their strengths, ideal user, and the factors to weigh in your decision.

Airplane Tier Analogy

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We can think of the Pixel 9 series like airplane tiers, progressing from the Pixel 9a’s basic comfort to the luxurious Pixel 9 Pro Fold. This analogy illustrates how each model offers increasing levels of features and refinement.

  • Economy - This is the most affordable option in the Pixel 9 lineup, perfect for users who want the core Pixel experience without breaking the bank.
  • Economy Extra - This level provides a solid foundation for daily smartphone use. This means it's perfect for handling all the essentials, like staying connected with calls and messages, browsing the web, keeping up with social media, and capturing your memories with photos. It's designed to be user-friendly and reliable, a great starting point within the Pixel 9 series.
  • Business Class - This level enhances the user experience with advanced features. Here, users can expect a noticeable step up in performance and functionality, designed to cater to more demanding tasks and creative pursuits. This includes things like a more sophisticated camera system, a smoother and more responsive display, and additional features that provide greater flexibility and control. It's really for those who want to do more with their phone and get the most out of its capabilities.
  • First Class - This level offers a top-tier experience with a focus on immersive visuals and performance. This phone is all about delivering the best possible experience for users who demand the most from their device. Think stunning, high-resolution displays that bring content to life with incredible clarity and vibrant colors. It also packs the latest and greatest in processing power and other advanced features, ensuring smooth, lag-free performance, even when multitasking or running demanding applications. The Pixel 9 Pro XL is designed for those who want to be fully immersed in their digital world, whether it's for entertainment, productivity, or creativity.
  • Private Jet - This level represents the pinnacle of innovation, combining tablet versatility with smartphone portability. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold stands at the summit of the Pixel 9 series, epitomizing cutting-edge technology and design. Its foldable form factor allows it to transition seamlessly between a compact smartphone and a larger tablet, offering unparalleled flexibility. This unique capability opens up a world of possibilities, from enhanced productivity and multitasking to immersive entertainment and creative expression. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is not just a phone; it's a multi-functional device that adapts to your needs, providing the best of both worlds.

Common Ground: The Pixel Experience

They all run on the Google Tensor G4 processor, with options for 8GB (Pixel 9a), 12GB (Pixel 9), or 16GB (Pixel 9 Pro/XL/Fold) of RAM, and 128GB, 256GB, 512GB (Pixel 9 Pro/XL/Fold) or 1TB (Pixel 9 Pro/XL/Fold) of storage. They all come with Android 15, and will get Google's industry-leading AI assistant, Gemini, out of the box, offering a pure Android experience with guaranteed 7 years of software updates. This includes exclusive software features like advanced AI-powered camera capabilities, Call Screen, and other Pixel-specific tools. All models also feature strong security with the Titan M2 security chip. However, due to its limited 8GB of RAM, the Pixel 9a will not support certain advanced features like Call Notes, Satellite Messages, and Pixel Screenshots. Here's a breakdown of the Pixel 9 series, categorized into tiers.

1. Economy

Summary: The Pixel 9a is the budget-friendly option in the Pixel 9 lineup, offering essential Pixel features at an affordable price.

  • Device Name: Pixel 9a
  • Processor: Google Tensor G4
  • Display: 6.3-inch OLED, 60-120Hz refresh rate
  • Features: Dual rear cameras, fast charging, wireless charging (Qi-certified)
  • Color Options: Iris, Peony, Porcelain, Obsidian
  • Best Use Case: Offers a balance of essential features and affordability, suitable for budget-conscious users who want a reliable Pixel experience.
  • What's Missing: Telephoto lens, some advanced software features.
  • Price: Starting at $499

2. Economy Extra

Summary: The Pixel 9 is designed for everyday use, providing a reliable and user-friendly experience with a focus on essential features like photography and productivity.

  • Device Name: Pixel 9
  • Processor: Google Tensor G4
  • Display: 6.3-inch Actua Display, adaptive 60-120Hz refresh rate
  • Features: Dual rear cameras, fast charging, wireless charging.
  • Color Options: Obsidian, Wintergreen, Porcelain, Peony
  • Best Use Case: Ideal for everyday use, web browsing, social media, photography, and general productivity.
  • What's Missing: Telephoto lens, Pro camera controls, Video Boost, Night Sight Video.
  • Price: Starting at $799

3. Business Class

Summary: The Pixel 9 Pro is tailored for photography enthusiasts and content creators, delivering a premium experience with advanced features like a telephoto lens and enhanced camera capabilities.

  • Device Name: Pixel 9 Pro
  • Processor: Google Tensor G4
  • Display: 6.3-inch Super Actua Display (LTPO), adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate
  • Features: Triple rear cameras (including telephoto), advanced camera features, fast charging, faster wireless charging, UWB.
  • Color Options: Obsidian, Porcelain, Hazel, Rose Quartz
  • Best Use Case: Suited for photography enthusiasts, content creators, and users who want a premium experience with advanced features.
  • What's Missing: Larger screen size.
  • Price: Starting at $999

4. First Class

Summary: The Pixel 9 Pro XL is designed for users who prioritize a large display and long battery life, offering a top-tier experience for media consumption, gaming, and productivity.

  • Device Name: Pixel 9 Pro XL
  • Processor: Google Tensor G4
  • Display: 6.7-inch Super Actua Display (LTPO), adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate
  • Features: Triple rear cameras (including telephoto), larger battery, fastest wireless charging, UWB.
  • Color Options: Rose Quartz
  • Best Use Case: Designed for users who prioritize a large display for media consumption, gaming, and productivity, and who want the best battery life.
  • What's Missing: N/A
  • Price: Starting at $1099

5. Private Jet

Summary: The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a foldable device that combines the functionality of a tablet with the portability of a smartphone, representing the pinnacle of innovation in the Pixel 9 series.

  • Device Name: Pixel 9 Pro Fold
  • Processor: Google Tensor G4
  • Display: Internal: 7.6-inch OLED; External: 5.8-inch OLED
  • Features: Foldable design, versatile usage modes, multi-tasking capabilities, and unique software experiences.
  • Color Options: Obsidian, Porcelain
  • Best Use Case: Ideal for users who want a tablet-like experience with smartphone portability, excellent for multitasking, media consumption, and productivity.
  • What's Missing: At a higher price point than the other models.
  • Price: Starting at $1799

Final Thoughts

Okay, so that's the Pixel 9 lineup in a nutshell. You've got a range of choices, starting with the super-affordable Pixel 9a, which still gives you that solid Pixel experience. Then there's the Pixel 9, which is great for everyday stuff - reliable and user-friendly. If you're into photography or creating content, the Pixel 9 Pro is the way to go with its advanced features. And for those of you who want the absolute best display and battery, the Pixel 9 Pro XL is where it's at. Finally, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a whole different beast - it's a phone that turns into a tablet, which is pretty awesome.

Bottom line? Google's made sure there's a Pixel 9 for just about everyone, no matter what you're looking for in a phone or how much you want to spend.

Android vs. iPhone: A User's Perspective that Matches Mine

I’ve always appreciated the flexibility of Android. Over the years, I’ve switched between Android and iPhone, and back to Android, and I’ve noticed consistent issues within the iPhone experience that ultimately led me back to Android. A recent Reddit post from u/Pucky22, who switched from a Pixel 7 to an iPhone 16 Pro, echoes many of my own experiences. The post provides a detailed look at the pros and cons of switching to iPhone after being a long-time Android user. Here’s a breakdown of the user’s observations, and my own perspective.

Analyzing “The Good”

Pucky22 highlighting several positive aspects of the iPhone 16 Pro:

Hardware Quality: A really nice piece of hardware. Beautiful, solid, and feels great in hand. The Pro model is a good size—big but not too bulky.

Screen: Looks fantastic. No complaints.

Camera & Video: Takes excellent shots, and from all accounts, the video quality is top-tier.

Dynamic Island: First time hearing about it, but it’s actually pretty cool. Having sports scores and music controls right there is surprisingly useful.

Software Touches: Some effects and animations are really smooth—like when scanning a document, it isolates the background and seamlessly moves it into the corner.

CarPlay: This surprised me. When catching up on notifications, it gives a natural-language summary of missed messages, which is really nice.

The Apple Maps navigation voice and style is very natural and smooth—I actually prefer it to Google Maps. I guess the days of being navigated into a lake are over for Apple Maps!

Grouped Notifications: While I still think Android does notifications better, Apple’s grouping and summarization of same-app notifications is intelligently designed and useful.

FaceID: When you’re holding the phone, FaceID works perfectly—fast and accurate. However, if the phone is sitting on a desk or table, FaceID often won’t pick up your face unless you awkwardly lean over it. A fingerprint reader would be a really nice option in those situations.

Standby Mode: Standby mode at night, with the bedside alarm clock in red, was actually very nice and well-designed. It’s subtle but easy to read at night without being harsh on the eyes. Also, the default iPhone alarm tone is exceptionally pleasing—way better than the jarring tones I’m used to on Android.

GenMoji Seems Fun: I didn’t even try it once, but I bet it’s cool for those who are into that sort of thing.

Pucky22 praised the iPhone’s hardware, display, and camera, and found features like Dynamic Island and CarPlay’s notification summaries to be surprisingly useful. They also noted the smooth software animations, improved Apple Maps, and well-designed Standby Mode. All of those to which I also share the same sentiment.

Analyzing “The Bad”

However, the user’s experience wasn’t entirely positive. The user encountered several significant issues with iOS.

These aren’t new complaints about iOS, but for someone using it as a main device, they are massive hurdles.

The Keyboard is Borderline Unusable. Whether using the stock keyboard or Gboard on iOS, the experience is awful. So many typos, wrong key presses—it’s just bad. The Gboard on my old Pixel 7 was 1000x more accurate and faster to type on. It has been consistently infuriating. I had no idea just how much better the Android keyboard was.

Notifications = Anxiety Machine. iPhone is aggressive with notifications—way more than I was used to. On Android, you can easily choose which notifications for a given app should be silent or not, right from the notification itself—just a quick tap and done. On iPhone, it’s a much more laborious process, requiring you to dig into settings manually for each app. This makes it way harder to fine-tune notifications to be useful instead of overwhelming.

Speaking of Settings… Why is there a whole app called “Settings” instead of just swiping down and tapping an icon to adjust things quickly? Having to navigate through an app for simple things like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is an unnecessary step.

No App Drawer. This is insane. Instead of a clean app drawer, you have to either search for apps (which is fine but not intuitive) or look through Apple’s pre-made categories in the App Library. The grouping seems neat at first glance but ends up being a wild choice in actual use. Why do I have to rely on Apple to decide where my apps go?

CarPlay Layout is a Mess. Apple Maps is actually pretty solid now—natural-sounding navigation, accurate directions—but the overall CarPlay interface is clunky compared to Android Auto.If you use Google Maps on CarPlay (without a car screen, just on your phone), you can only get in-app media controls for Spotify or Apple Music—not YouTube Music. Why??

iMessage is Seriously Underwhelming. I was expecting more. RCS on Android does the same thing (minus the blue bubble “exclusivity”), so the fact that Apple has built an entire bullying ecosystem around this feels ridiculous. WhatsApp does all of this and works across devices.

No iMessage on a PC? This was a shock. I use a PC for work, and I was stunned to realize that iMessage has no web or Windows version. With Google Messages, WhatsApp, or basically any other modern messaging platform, I could just open a browser and continue conversations while working. With iPhone? Nope. Either use a Mac or be stuck switching between my phone and computer constantly.

Transferring Old Messages From Android Was a Nightmare. This was infuriating. There’s no native way to do it, so I had to try a third-party, expensive app—and even that still didn’t work.

Homescreen Organization is a Disaster. On Android, I can place apps and widgets where I want—maybe I have a family photo as my wallpaper and don’t want anything covering faces. On iPhone? Move one app and the whole homescreen shifts like a chaotic game of Tetris. If you try to put an app in a folder, it’s like chasing a toddler at bedtime. Just… why?

Pucky22’s experience highlights the strengths and weaknesses of switching to iOS from Android, and mirrors my own experiences. Even to the point where when the last time I owned an iPhone 12 last year was to communicate with my church team through iMessage. Since Apple enabled RCS on iOS 18, I was able to completely be unreliant on the iPhone and ultimately sell it. While the hardware and some software features are impressive, iOS has significant usability issues. It’s also worth noting that the premium Android smartphone market is much stronger now than it once was. Companies like Google, Samsung, OnePlus, and Motorola have really stepped up, offering compelling alternatives in the high-end segment. So now when people ask me why I no longer use an iPhone. I’ll share with them this blog post because it’s a lofty question that deservant of a lofty answer.

Pixel 10 Officially Mentioned with a New Discovery

Mishaal Rahman on Android Authority:

While I was browsing the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code review last week, I spotted a code change that explicitly references the Pixel 10. In the description for the code change titled “Parallel Module Loading: Add performance mode,” a Google engineer says the change was tested on a Pixel 10, resulting in a 30% reduction in “loading time.”

The change was also tested on a Pixel Fold, though, which means it isn’t specific to next-generation hardware. Instead, it’ll impact all Android-based devices once it makes its way to Android’s open source codebase, likely in a quarterly release of Android 16. That’s because it impacts a key part of the bootup process shared by all Android devices.

It’s rare — but not totally unheard of — to see explicit references to unreleased hardware in AOSP; as far as I know, this is the first public mention of the Pixel 10 outside of leaks, though it’s not like we didn’t already know it existed.

We’ve seen the leaks, and noticed that the external design of the Pixel 10 mirrors the Pixel 9 series. What that tells me is what Mishaal is discovering. Most of what will be elevated on the Pixel 10 is the internals: software and hardware. I’d consider the Pixel 10 to be Google’s “S-year”. If Pixel 9 was in the A-tier, the Pixel 10 is having a lot of performance tweaks on the software and hardware to bring it to the S-tier. The biggest question I have though is that since the regular Pixel 10 is getting a telephoto, just like the Pro-tier, what will be the differentiator among the two?

Pixel 9a: When 8GB RAM Means Sacrifices

Ryan Whitwam at Ars Technica:

The Pixel 9a has less RAM than the flagship Pixels, which standardized on 12GB largely to provide Gemini Nano with reserved memory without impeding performance. However, the Pixel 9a still just has 8GB of memory, which is a problem for local AI processing. This is the first Google phone to ship with a new super-small AI model. It saves on resources but can’t support some of the best Pixel AI features.

This is a familiar problem for Google, which initially disappointed Pixel 8 owners last year when it said Gemini Nano wouldn’t come to that phone. Google reversed course several weeks later and released Gemini Nano as a developer preview despite the phone only having 8GB of RAM. Google confirms this preview was the first appearance of the XXS Gemini AI that now runs on the Pixel 9a out of the box.

To make Gemini Nano run well on a device with 8GB of RAM, Google had to make some sacrifices. On the more minor side, Gemini Nano 1.0 XXS doesn’t run continuously in the background, unlike the flagship Pixels. The Pixel 9a only loads Gemini XXS (and eats into your RAM) when the model is needed, which might make some features a bit less responsive. A more serious drawback is the lack of multimodality—Gemini Nano 1.0 XXS is text-only.

I think this is fine. Most people that purchase a Pixel 9a will barely notice the lack features like Pixel Screenshots and Call Notes. Both are super useful features, which you can get on the Pixel 9 that you can currently get for the same price as the Pixel 9a. And even so. If people shout loud enough, Google might add it later similar to how they did with the Pixel 8.

It’s plausible that the majority of Pixel 9a purchasers may remain largely oblivious to the absence of features such as Pixel Screenshots and Call Notes. While these functionalities are undoubtedly beneficial, they are available on the Pixel 9, which currently retails at a comparable price point to the Pixel 9a. I believe that plenty of user advocacy could prompt Google to subsequently introduce these features, mirroring their previous actions with the Pixel 8.

Verizon brings satellite connectivity to Galaxy and Pixel devices

Verizon today announced a significant expansion of its satellite texting capabilities, enabling its customers to become the first in the US to send text messages to any other customer device via satellite when outside the reach of terrestrial cellular networks using select Android devices from the series of Samsung Galaxy S25 and Google Pixel 9 smartphones. Upgrades enabling this service start today and will continue over the next two weeks.

I’ve received it on my Pixel 9 Pro and though I don’t plan on going on any hikes up Mt. Everest and thankfully there aren’t really any extreme weather conditions happening in Arizona anytime soon. Thankfully I don’t think I’ll be needing to use this feature anytime soon. But it’s nice to have.