Free AI features, but there is an catch

Google has announced a significant free AI upgrade to all Pixel 9 owners in a surprise in April 2025 “Drop Pixel Drop”, but not all Pixel owners are happy.

April 11 Update below: Added details of Samsung’s offer to owners of the S25 Galaxy series. This article was first published on April 8

Google April 2025 Pixel Drop with a look

• Google makes the functions of Premium Gemini Live Camera and screen sharing for all Pixel 9 series.
• Owners Pixel 9 Pro-Series already have features through Gemini Advanced
• Owners of the Pixel 8 series and the larger ones are not included
• Movement adds significant value to the upcoming budget -friendly Pixel 9A

Google April 2025 Pixel Drop – What new is there?

Google officially announced On April 8, all the Pixel 9 smartphones now have free access to the new Gemini Live voice and joint features. I’ve been to more details about these features previouslyBut essentially what they do is allow you to give the Gemini application live access to your screen or viewing through your camera so you can chat with it in real time about what it sees.

As shown in Google’s advertising video above, Gemini Live with voice is a way to change the game to use your smartphone to get information about the world around you that does not require typing. So far, this feature, along with the screen sharing on Gemini Live, was only available to those who own a paid Gemini Advanced subscription.

As a result, these new Gemini Live features are a significant upgrade for most Standard Pixel 9 owners, but Pixel 9 Pro-Series owners are already benefiting from these functions through previous 2-month subscriptions. This leads me to suspect the unusual time and the limited scope of Google’s surprise in April 2025 Pixel Drop is really all about the upcoming Pixel 9A, which is due to be released on April 10.

By expanding these powerful new features to Pixel 9A, Google can present the best features of AI to the new lower-cost model without having to bind a precise Google One Ai Premium subscription-hereinafter the only way to buy Gemini Advanced.

One year of Google One Ai Premium today costs almost half as much as the $ 499 Pixel, and Base Pixel 9 is already on sale without one. Whatever the features Google gives to Pixel 9A, it must also give the existing Pixel 9, so this drop in features is a neat way to get around this problem.

The forthcoming Pixel 9A launch may also be part of the reason why Google does not extend this offer to Pixel 8 owners, some of whom are unhappy (see comments on the YouTube video above), that they will not get the new features despite the possession of relatively recent smartphones.

It is unusual for a decline in pixels to focus on a single, important feature and, most importantly, to limit its availability exclusively to the last Pixel row. However, this makes a more exciting Pixel 9A launch and will probably entice more users to upgrade. On the other hand, it is a lesser reason for Pixel 9 Pro users to start paying for the Gemini Advanced when their 12 -month subscriptions are over.

Will these free Gemini Live updates be enough to entice you to upgrade Pixel 9A?

Update April 11: Owners of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series have already effectively receiving the April 2025 Pixel fall

The owners of the Samsung Galaxy S25 have gained access to live Gemini features that reflect them in the fall of April 2025 pixels, and Samsung appears ready for a wider development than Google.

In recent press release Samsung announced: “Samsung Electronics announced today the development of a new AI experience with Gemini Live, bringing free visual talks with Galaxy users.

Users of the Galaxy S25 series can start the new functions of the Gemini camera by clicking and holding the Side button on their devices. The following graphic, contained in release, also gives some useful tips on how to use Gemini Live with camera, such as asking for tips on what to wear at a music festival and what shoes will mate with the clothes.

Samsung’s announcement that growth “starts with” the Galaxy S25 series proposes possible expansion to other devices. On the contrary, Google has limited the April 2025 Drop Pixels in Pixel 9.

Basically, Samsung does not specify which devices may receive information in the future, leaving the door open for similar features of features on earlier devices such as the Galaxy S24 series. However, I suspect that we are more likely to see that growth is expanding to current low -cost devices, such as the Samsung Galaxy A56, Samsung’s closest competitor to Pixel 9A.

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