A few weeks ago, I disabled the AICore app on my Pixel 10 Pro, saving 7GB of storage space in the process. This was the right decision for me, but the side effects of this decision were noticeable.
The biggest impact was that the Pixel Screenshots app was rendered completely unusable. While I hadn’t found much use for the app beyond searching for holiday gifts, I was nevertheless keen to find an alternative.
Fortunately, I was able to find not one, but two excellent replacements for Pixel Screenshots.
The first app, Shots Studio, is an AI-powered screenshot manager that is the closest alternative to Pixel Screenshots on the Play Store. It lets you choose between online and offline AI models, which is exactly what I wish Pixel Screenshots would do.
GYST offers fewer features, but it does the basics well with some privacy tools thrown in for good measure.
I finally found a Google Lens feature I use every day, and it has nothing to do with shopping
It unexpectedly replaced manual typing for me
Shots Studio is the best alternative to Pixel Screenshots
But the API limitations are problematic at first
I was always baffled as to why Google prevented Pixel Screenshots from processing data through the cloud. Security and speed are the two primary factors that impact a phone’s AI capabilities.
However, Google recently updated Magic Cue to be powered by Gemini in the cloud, citing security improvements and limitations of Tensor as its reasons for doing so. If Magic Cue can use the cloud, why can’t Pixel Screenshots?
Before you can use Shots Studio, you have to choose between downloading an on-device AI model or using the cloud. The app clearly states the pros and cons of each method, which I’m delighted to see, as there is still plenty of confusion about the benefits of on-device AI models.
Setting up Shots Studio involves creating a Gemini API key, but this only took me seconds despite it being my first time interacting with the Gemini API website. After that, it takes a few minutes to process your images, and you’re off.
Thanks to its Material You design, Shots Studio looks at home alongside other Google apps. But form is second to function here, so the real question is, does it work as well as Pixel Screenshots? Short answer, yes, but there’s a catch.
If you want to save space on your phone and use Gemini on the cloud, you’re limited by the number of API requests you can make in a day.
Shots Studio can process about 80 screenshots a day for free. While this is fine for everyday use, it will take a few days to process your entire screenshot library, depending on its size. But when it’s done, it works like a charm.
Whether I was searching for text in screenshots, finding receipts, or generating reminders for upcoming events, Shots Studio handled all my requests with ease.
My only problem with the app is that it doesn’t offer a variety of filters like Pixel Screenshots, so searching for types of screenshots requires more manual work.
Nevertheless, it’s the best alternative to Pixel Screenshots you can find.
I discovered another app, confusingly called Pixel Screenshots (by AKS Labs), which also performed brilliantly. However, it required a monthly subscription that was too high to recommend.
GYST is the simple screenshot manager you might actually need
Simple, effective, and no AI involved
Pixel Screenshots and Shots Studio have all the features you could imagine for organizing and searching your screenshots, but what about if you don’t need all that functionality? After all, we managed to get by before Pixel Screenshots landed on Pixel devices.
GYST has no AI-powered features, just screenshot organization tools and some effective, if clunky, privacy tools.
In the GYST app, you can tap any screenshot and choose to add it to a stack (GYST’s name for collections), delete it, copy the text in the image, or share it.
The stacks are simple folders containing your screenshots. GYST’s organization features are as bare-bones as they get.
There is a function for searching for text in images, but it was unreliable, only able to pick out the clearest text in screenshots. For example, it found the word “pebble” from the first screenshot below, but not “world” from the second screenshot.
Strangely, the copy feature picked up all text from my screenshots without a problem.
GYST includes a hidden directory where you can store screenshots without sharing them with any other app. It’s a neat feature, but the only way to access it is via a Quick Settings option.
GYST uses the screen recording feature on your Android phone to perform this action, which is clunky but private, as the screenshot is stored directly within GYST’s hidden directory, only visible within the app.
You can also share password-protected screenshots with your contacts, which is useful for sending sensitive information.
If you’re hunting for a simple, privacy-first screenshot manager, GYST might be the one.
Don’t let Google con you into thinking it has a monopoly on AI-powered apps
It’s ironic that if Google let Pixel Screenshots use Gemini in the cloud, I would never have felt the need to search for a replacement.
However, as Google forces its own screenshot app to use on-device processing, Shots Studio is the best choice for organizing your screenshots. It’s simple, easy-to-use, and completely free.
GYST is worth exploring, but it’s only worth it if you need basic screenshot organization features.
