Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google may very well be getting ready to deliver the Pixel Studio app to the Pixel 8 sequence.
- The app is at the moment unique to the Pixel 9 sequence.
- The app makes use of on-device AI and Google’s Imagen 3 AI mannequin to generate pictures from textual content prompts.
It seems to be like Google is getting ready to roll out the Pixel Studio app on the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Professional and Pixel 8a. Android Authority and Assemble Debug have discovered proof suggesting that the Generative AI picture creation app could also be headed to the 2023 flagship lineup. It’s at the moment unique to the Pixel 9 sequence and makes use of AI to generate pictures from textual content instructions.
We discovered a brand new APK stub for Pixel Studio on APK Mirror. The notes on the web site say it’s from the Pixel 8 Professional with the latest Android 15 replace. After additional investigation, we had been capable of verify that the identical APK stub was additionally pre-installed on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a with Android 15.
An APK stub seems to be similar to the app it stands for and is signed with the identical safety keys. Nevertheless, it’s primarily a placeholder that doesn’t comprise any precise app content material; as an alternative, it merely directs customers to the Play Retailer to obtain the total app. This permits machine producers to incorporate apps with out utilizing a lot cupboard space. Google should permit the Play Retailer entry for Pixel Studio to let Pixel 8 sequence customers formally obtain the app. So despite the fact that the APK stub is now current within the Android 15 replace for the older Pixels, Google should activate the change on the backend for customers to have the ability to get Pixel Studio.
One other piece of proof we discovered was the removing of the com.google.android.function.PIXEL_2024_EXPERIENCE function flag from the app. This flag has been out there in all earlier Pixel Studio APKs. It’s used for gadgets launched in 2024 (Primarily, the Pixel 9 sequence). Its removing signifies that Google is able to roll out the Pixel Studio app to older gadgets.
That is additionally why sideloading a earlier APK of the Pixel Studio app doesn’t work on the Pixel 8, 8 Professional, and 8a proper now. Earlier variations of the APK embrace the flag that requires your Pixel machine to be from 2024, i.e., a Pixel 9 sequence cellphone. So even if you happen to sideload Pixel Studio proper now, the APK will refuse to open if it can’t discover that 2024 function flag within the system, which clearly isn’t out there within the Pixel 8 sequence.
In the meantime, we checked, and it doesn’t appear to be the Pixel 7 sequence is in line to get the app proper now. The APK stub was not out there on the Pixel 7 operating Android 15.
