Google created a new weather app for the new Pixel phones, which includes the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
What’s most fascinating about it is that Google has incorporated AI features into the Pixel Weather app, perhaps as a way to differentiate it from the competition.
I got to take a quick look at Pixel Weather at a pre-Made by Google event. Here’s what I saw.
Google Pixel Weather app: What does it do?
Put simply, it tells you the weather. In terms of basic features, Pixel Weather bears a resemblance to the default iPhone weather app. You can see both hourly and 10-day forecasts, look at a weather radar map for your area to track precipitation, and generally use it to get an idea of what you need to prepare for on any given day.
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My time with Pixel Weather was limited to a very brief hands-on experience followed by a similarly brief hands-off demo. When I got to actually use the app, I couldn’t detect any noteworthy shortcomings when compared to Apple’s equivalent. The only thing I noticed was that the precipitation radar didn’t animate quite as smoothly as it updated from hour-to-hour, but that’s not something that would actually impact your life in any meaningful way.
Google Pixel Weather app: AI features
As for the artificial intelligence features packed into Pixel Weather, it seems pretty limited at the moment. The AI can write a brief summary of the day’s weather with some advice on how to handle it – and that’s about it.
It’s a bit hard to see, but Pixel Weather’s AI is telling us to wear sunscreen because it is hot.
Credit: Kimberley Gedeon/Mashable
To be more specific, the weather that day was 89 degrees with a “feels like” temperature of 93 degrees. Terrible. Anyway, when prompted to give an AI summary of the weather, Pixel Weather came up with the following:
“Hot one today, so wear sunscreen if you’re heading out in the morning.”
That’s admittedly not very insightful and arguably not that helpful, unless you never think to wear sunscreen anywhere but the pool or beach. I didn’t get a clear idea of whether the AI summaries will ever be longer or more detailed than that. I won’t cast judgment on the feature yet based on a quick and obvious summary of a very hot day, but this is something to keep in mind.
