The Pixel event brought us the new Pixel 9 series phones and one of the features, or rather app, that has taken the users by surprise is the Pixel Screenshots app. While we take several screenshots, some of them accidentally, finding the right screenshots with the right details is challenging. Google wants to make finding screenshots easy with the Pixel Screenshots app. Here’s what we found after using it for an entire day.
Table of Contents
Supported Devices
At the time of writing in August 2024, Pixel Screenshots app is available only on the Pixel 9 series. While the app appears on the Google Play Store, I couldn’t download it on my Pixel 8 Pro, so I sideloaded it on Pixel 8 Pro. Unfortunately, that didn’t work either because Pixel Screenshots requires Gemini Nano multimodality, which is available only on the Pixel 9 series.
Will it come to other Android phones since Gemini is available on them? I doubt so. Google named the app Pixel Screenshots rather than Google Screenshots or just Screenshots. It is exclusive to Pixel 9 series smartphones for now. Will you buy a Pixel 9 series phone for this app? Let us know on X (Twitter).
How Pixel Screenshots Works
Anything you see on your screen that you want to save or be reminded of in the future, take a screenshot and your phone will save it in Pixel Screenshots. Gemini will use AI magic (all AI processing happens on-device) to scan the screenshots for information and create a description on the fly. You can then search for this information using either text (search bar) or voice (mic icon).
Search has always been Google’s strength, and you can expect it to work just fine. You can search screenshots by describing things in the image, using AI-generated descriptions, and taking notes. Most of the time, it worked fine, but sometimes it threw unrelated results.
However, screenshots you get on third-party apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, or other messaging apps won’t appear in Pixel Screenshots immediately. You’ll need to add them. There are two ways to add them:
- Take a screenshot of the screenshot on your Pixel 9 phone and it will appear in the Pixel Screenshots app.
- Open Pixel Screenshots app and tap on the + button to either use the Camera app to take an image or open Gallery to add a screenshot/image.
- The app can process only 15 screenshots daily on its own. After that, you will have to tap the Process now button to process the screenshots and create an AI summary of important information.
Note: Google claims that you can soon search for these screenshots from any screen using Gemini Assistant. You won’t need the Screenshots app; the screenshot will appear in an overlay on the screen you may have opened.
Links to Apps and Websites
I like the part where the feature truly makes Pixel Screenshots useful. Let’s say you are browsing Amazon for a new laptop and you took screenshots of models that you want to compare or reconsider later. You will notice that each screenshot displays a small icon of the app wherein you took the screenshot.
Note: When you take a screenshot, you will see a green glow (animation) around the screenshot, which means it will appear in Pixel Screenshots.
It also adds links to the respective app. So when you tap on the app icon inside the screenshot, it opens that page. I was using Chrome to browse Amazon and Pixel Screenshots opened the product page on Chrome with a single tap. Similarly, I saved a screenshot of TechWiser office location in Google Maps and I was taken directly to that address in Maps later (I made sure to close Google Maps before tapping on the icon in Pixel Screenshots).
Also Read: Should you buy the new Pixel 9 series?
AI Descriptions and Notes
I was disappointed a little with this, though it is a solvable problem and will get fixed as AI gets better over time. Gemini creates an AI-generated description of the screenshot with important details like date, price, time, specs, etc. So in my case, it created a description of the laptop. However, it was incorrect and sometimes, completely wrong.
Fortunately, it saves links to the app or web page. But not all screenshots we take will have links to the apps and pages.
In the below example, I took a screenshot of an Acer laptop, but the description talks about Lenovo because there is a small ad at the top for a Lenovo model.
Also, there is no way to edit the AI-generated description. Hence the Note feature to add your thoughts which is useful. You can also search for screenshots by the contents of the note. I hoped I could edit that description though or regenerate it maybe.
Pro Tip: Add #hashtags to notes that will make it easy to search for what you want. Some examples can be names, objects, ideas, projects, and more.
Auto-Suggest Further Actions
This one is another cool Pixel Screenshots feature. The app auto-suggests actions based on the screenshot you have taken. It is (artificial) intelligence after all.
Select a screenshot and you will see an option to set a reminder. When the day and time come, you will be notified. You can also view all the reminders that are due today and that are upcoming. Your phone may ask you to add the event to the Calendar app.
Again, you can use it in many different ways. Are you hunting for gift ideas for your sister’s birthday? Set a reminder for the gift’s screenshot one day before the big event so you won’t forget to buy. Need the dinner reservation details? Open the Pixel Screenshots app.
Small Observations After Using Pixel Screenshots for a Day
- The search bar with the familiar icon is at the bottom of the screen, which makes it easier to reach and use.
- Too many screenshots? No problem. You can create folders, Google calls them collections, where you can save screenshots by themes, like shopping, receipts, gift ideas, and more.
- You can annotate the screenshots for further recall and clarity. There are quite a few options like free draw, color picker, eraser, etc.
- When you take a screenshot, you will see options to annotate, share, and add a reminder on the same screen. No need to open Pixel Screenshots.
- You cannot select multiple screenshots on the main screen to delete them in one go. However, you can select multiple screenshots inside the Collections.
- Google assures that soon you can search for screenshots from any screen using Gemini Assistant. The screenshot will be shown as a pop-up or overlay over the currently open app or screen.
Future of Pixel Screenshots
Google is betting on its dedicated screenshot app right from the get-go. It’s been barely a week since Google unveiled Screenshots along with the Pixel 9 series, and reports are coming in that it will be added to Circle to Search feature. When you circle around something on your screen to search for it, you will see an option to save that as a screenshot along with other options.
This makes sense since we use Circle to Search for things that make us curious or stuff we want to know more about and save.
Here’s some food for thought. What happens if you take a screenshot of a math problem? Will Gemini simply create a description or go one step ahead and actually solve it? Can it answer questions if you take a screenshot of it? I tried it and the answer is no and that is okay. Google has designed Pixel Screenshots to help recall important things and not provide answers.
