AI smartphones loaded with AI features have been out for some time, but many assessments say there are still not many consumers who buy smartphones for AI. Even so, smartphone makers are continuing to put AI front and centre.

Google unveils Pixel smartphones each year with new AI features. It recently released the Pixel 11 smartphone with AI software designed to speed up user tasks. The Pixel 11 offers Gemini-based grocery ordering, ride-hailing and restaurant reservation functions.

A recent New York Times report said the Pixel 11 smartphone is part of Google’s vision to redefine personal computing.

The New York Times reported Google believes that as people use Gemini instead of using apps directly, AI will ultimately replace the operating system (OS) in importance. Apple, which leads the mobile platform market along with Google, will unveil a new AI assistant, Siri AI, in September.

Pixel 11 sales are not large and its market share is small, but its influence is relatively significant. Many smartphone companies, including Apple and Samsung Electronics, are adding some ideas Google applied to Pixel phones to their own products. That means AI features applied to the Pixel 11 could become a barometer for predicting what other companies will do.

The Pixel 11 also offers “Magic Capture” software that takes photos and selects them on a user’s behalf. Google also introduced a tool that automatically translates videos or podcasts into a user’s preferred language.

Can AI become a weighty variable in smartphone purchases this time?

New York Times reporter Brian X. Chen (브라이언 X. 첸), who tested the $1,100 Pixel 11 Pro for about a week, said the auto-dubbing technology was impressive but he was not convinced people would come to prefer leaving apps and cameras to AI.

He said using Gemini to control apps was too cumbersome and not smooth. He tried using the OpenTable and Instacart apps on Gemini, but he explained it would have saved more time to book restaurants and order groceries directly.

Chen predicted ordinary consumers do not seem likely to soon become accustomed to letting AI control their apps. Google said it is working to resolve the problem Chen experienced on OpenTable.

Chen said Magic Capture had both pros and cons.

It performed well in selecting a photo of a pet sitting in a chair, but when he photographed his 2-year-old daughter it picked a photo with a blank expression. He said, “When I checked the video clip again, I liked a photo of my daughter smiling broadly even though her eyes were closed.” He added, “People usually take a lot of photos and later enjoy reviewing them and choosing the ones they like. Leaving photo shooting and selection to an AI bot somehow does not seem fun.”

The function that automatically dubs videos or podcasts is impressive. He said AI tries to imitate even the speaker’s voice. Even so, Chen said AI is less a new interface that completely changes how people use smartphones than just another app people pull up for specific tasks.

Chen said that among the AI-based smartphone functions Google has introduced so far, a feature that deletes unnecessary people in photos with one button, a call screening feature that filters spam calls, and a feature that automatically transcribes recorded calls have taken hold. He also said live dubbing is highly likely to become popular if supported languages increase and the technology is refined.