As the artificial intelligence (AI) race continues to heat up, more companies are gunning for the success that OpenAI’s ChatGPT has seen. Google Bard attempted to close the gap with several new features, including data access across other Google products, but it still doesn’t quite match up to the latter’s performance.
Things are set to get a lot better, however. Now powered by Google’s new Gemini AI model, the chatbot is capable of more advanced reasoning and planning that according to the company, matches and even exceeds ChatGPT in a number of ways. The update will be available in more than 170 countries for English-speaking users, with more languages and territories due to come in the near future.
Gemini is available in three tiers: Ultra, the largest and most capable; Nano, built to be small and fast; and Pro, which sits right in the middle. Bard is currently running Pro, with improvements made to summarising content, writing, and planning. In 2024, the tech giant is planning to roll out a preview of “Bard Advanced”, powered by Gemini Ultra. The model, as a whole, is described to be “natively multimodal”, allowing it to accept and create images, audio, and video on top of just text.
“We built it to be natively multimodal from the ground up,” said Demis Hassabis, the head of Google DeepMind. “That’s one of the new capabilities that it has… the kinds of seamless integration and reasoning it can do across modalities.”
Google Pixel 8 Pro owners are also among those reaping the benefits of Gemini. Starting today, Gemini Nano will run on the device and offer various Generative AI-powered features, such as Summarise in Recorder, where users can get a summary of recorded conversations and more without a network connection, as well as Smart Reply in Gboard. The latter update suggests high-quality responses with conversational awareness, and is available to try now on WhatsApp.
Both features are live globally for English-speaking markets, including Singapore. Other notable improvements and additions to the list are as follows:
- Video Boost on your Pixel 8 Pro that enables Night Sight video which uses AI to reduce noise in videos recorded at night or in low light conditions so you don’t miss out on rich detail and colour.
- All new Night Sight in Timelapse to help you record vibrant and detailed timelapse videos even in low light. Just set your Pixel on a steady surface and let your Pixel Camera do what it does best – capture amazing videos at night!
- Refocus with the upgraded Photo Unblur to capture the clearest images of your furry friends, especially if they can’t sit still! Or of your human friends as well, as it still helps to refocus people’s faces and backgrounds.
- All new Clean features that can help remove blemishes like stains or creases from scanned documents. Simply access it through the Camera app!
- Stay safe with Repair Mode that protects your personal data while your device is getting fixed up at the repair shop.
The full list of Pixel 8 Pro updates, as well as more information about Gemini, can be found on the official Google blog.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Trinity Sun
