Pixel 8 Won’t Get Gemini Nano Access Because of “Hardware Limitations”

When the Pixel 8 Pro added support for on-device AI back in December through Gemini Nano, we were curious why the Pixel 8 was left out and if it may gain access in the future. These devices are almost identical outside of the amount of RAM, but both certainly run the same Tensor G3 chip and you would think could be able to support similar features. As it turns out, the Pixel 8 may never get Gemini Nano’s on-device powers.

During a Q&A session on the latest #TheAndroidShow, a question of “Will Gemini Nano be available on Pixel 8?” was posed. Googler Terence Zhang responded, saying that “Nano will not be coming to Pixel 8” and that’s because of “some hardware limitations.” He didn’t dive into what those limitations were, but followed up by saying it will eventually be coming to other “top, high-end devices in the near future.” He finished by saying again, “But yeah, unfortunately not the Pixel 8.”

The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro both run Tensor G3, but the Pixel 8 Pro has 12GB RAM and the Pixel 8 has 8GB RAM. Maybe it’s a memory issue? What makes that info more odd is the fact that the Galaxy S24 series all support Gemini Nano, yet the base model S24 has 8GB RAM. Soooooo, what is the limitation on Pixel 8? Is it RAM in combination with Tensor G3 or some missing mysterious internal chip or what are we talking about here?

It’s unfortunate news all around for owners of the Pixel 8. While the Pixel 8 Pro has been pitched as the true “Pro” phone that will get more software features than the Pixel 8 (and we’ve talked about this at length), the idea of there being hardware limitations seems off. Like, if you don’t want to give the regular Pixel 8 other features because you want them only on Pro models, just say so. Otherwise, I feel like we deserve to know what exactly those limitations are. Owners of the Pixel 8 should be able to make a decision about whether or not to keep their phones.

// reddit