Google's Gemini Nano Boosts Live Transcription on Pixel 8, Pixel 8a; Recorder App Gets New Shortcut

Google Pixel smartphones received several new features as part of the Pixel Feature Drop for June that was rolled out earlier this week. One of the key upgrades 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 leverage the power of Google's Gemini Nano small language model (SLM) on handsets such as the Pixel 8 as well as the recently introduced Pixel 8a.

Recorder App on Google Pixel

In a blog post published earlier this week, Google announced new abilities for its smartphones. 9to5Google spotted a new shortcut for the Recorder app that appears as a red circle on a white background, matching the larger floating action button (FAB). This Record shortcut can now be placed on the home screen to quickly start a recording.

The feature is speculated to provide a boost to the live transcription capabilities by bringing quick access to it. According to the publication, it is available with version 4.2.20240502.639621645 of the Recorder app on Pixel phones. Gadgets 360 staff members were unable to verify its availability.

In addition to the new shortcut, Google said it is bringing Gemini Nano, its SLM built for on-device tasks to other handsets 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 is reported to be about 1GB in size.

As a result, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a will now be able to deliver “more detailed, downloadable summaries” via the Summarize feature in the Recorder app. Meanwhile, Pixel 8 Pro users can now take advantage of speaker labels in conversational transcripts.

Google Gemini Nano comes to Google Messages

In the Pixel Feature Drop for June, Google also announced a new and quicker way for users to have conversations with Gemini in the Messages app. Although a similar functionality exists in the app, a couple of steps are required before they can start conversing.

With the update, a Gemini FAB reportedly now appears above the start chat icon. This feature is said to have been spotted during an APK teardown of the Google Messages app version messages.android_20240610_01_RC00.