Magic Cue could be the Pixel's first AI feature game-changing

Putting AI front and centre.

- ANYRON COPEMAN

It's fair to say that artificial intelligence on smartphones has been a mixed bag so far. For every feature that's worked as advertised, there's been another that's been frustratingly unreliable. And while some companies offer a comprehensive suite of features, others are weirdly limited.

Google has been one of the firms leading the way for a while, adding useful Al functionality to its Pixel phones all the time. However, most of these require you to go looking for them, which can be a time-consuming and confusing process.

As someone who tests phones for a living, I make a point of trying out all the new Al features on handsets, but it doesn't tend to stick. After publishing my reviews, I just go right back to using the device as I did before.

What I really want is for Al to be working in the background to make my life easier. And on the new Pixel 10 series, it sounds like that’s just what Google has done. Could this be a watershed moment for artificial intelligence on phones?

WHAT'S MAGIC CUE?

No, it’s not a fancy tool for helping you get better at snooker. Magic Cue is an Al assistant that automatically runs in the background. When you receive a prompt in a supported app, it'll proactively find and surface the information that it thinks is most relevant, saving you from having to search for it manually.

Here are a few of the ways Google has suggested Magic Cue can be used.

Phoning it in

Making calls is stressful enough as it is. You don't want to have to remember important information or always go searching for it while someone is waiting on the other end of the line.