{"id":855753,"date":"2026-08-12T20:42:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T20:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/855753\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T20:42:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T20:42:18","slug":"i-tried-pixel-11s-new-gemini-features-one-made-me-sound-fluent-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/855753\/","title":{"rendered":"I Tried Pixel 11’s New Gemini Features. One Made Me Sound Fluent in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AThe Pixel 11 introduces new features for quickly pulling up information and translating content.Andrew Lanxon\/CNET<\/p>\n

In real life, my Spanish is a little rusty. I can understand most conversations, but speaking is another story, as if the words and verb tenses are sitting on some dusty shelf I haven\u2019t touched since high school. Right now, though, I\u2019m hearing myself speak Spanish so rapidly and smoothly that I sound fluent.<\/p>\n

Except I\u2019m not. It\u2019s Google\u2019s Live Translate feature, dubbing one of my YouTube reviews in real time.<\/p>\n

With the brand-new Pixel 11 Pro XL in my hand, I can tap on virtually any YouTube video and hear it translated on the fly, opening up a world of foreign-language content that I can have dubbed into English \u2013 or Spanish or Arabic, if I really want to put my language skills to the test.<\/p>\n

Live Translate for media is just one of a handful of new Gemini Intelligence<\/a> features launching on Google\u2019s new Pixel 11<\/a> series, announced Wednesday. Along with instant translations, this suite of AI capabilities is designed to handle mundane tasks like adding something to your calendar, automatically filling out a form and sharing your flight details with loved ones. That way, you don\u2019t have to hop between apps to track down that information yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"I<\/p>\n

Some Gemini Intelligence features launched on Samsung\u2019s latest foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 8<\/a>, Z Fold 8 Ultra<\/a> and Z Flip 8<\/a>. But several new features I had the opportunity to try out last week at Google\u2019s Mountain View, California, headquarters are arriving on Pixel 11 phones first, and will later become available on additional premium Android phones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that if you\u2019re getting a great Android device, you should get all the great AI experiences that we\u2019re building as well. It\u2019s not a Pixel-only thing,\u201d Seang Chau, vice president and general manager of Android Platform, told me. \u201cGemini Intelligence then becomes a brand statement that\u2019s essentially: \u2018What you have in your hand is the best that we have to offer.’\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Magic Capture snapped this shot without me hitting the shutter button.Abrar Al-Heeti\/CNET<\/p>\n

Magic Capture<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be a Pixel launch without some AI camera updates. A new feature called Magic Capture lives within the camera app, next to the photo and video controls. When tapped, Magic Capture will analyze the scene and then automatically find the best shots, so you don\u2019t have to tap the shutter button for each individual snapshot. Just hold your phone up, and your Pixel will record the scene and then pinpoint the best moments for a photo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I tested this out while kicking a soccer ball back and forth. I pointed the Pixel\u2019s camera at my passing partner and could focus more on playing rather than checking my framing or taking photos at the right moment. Magic Capture ended up choosing some pretty epic shots of him doing tricks, without me looking out for when to hit the shutter button.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This can be helpful if you\u2019re trying to decide between taking a video or snapping photos, or if you just prefer to be in the moment as much as possible, rather than seeing the world through your smartphone\u2019s viewfinder.<\/p>\n

\"\"Rambler drafted a more touched-up text message as I yapped my way through making plans.Celso Bulgatti\/CNET<\/p>\n

Rambler<\/p>\n

Rambler takes voice-to-text to the next level by removing filler words like \u201cum\u201d and \u201cuh.\u201d You can also reverse course by saying something like, \u201cactually, never mind,\u201d and I\u2019ll only take into account what it thinks you want to say.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I tested out Rambler by arranging dinner plans and stumbling through whether I wanted sushi or pizza, and if I wanted to meet at 5 or 5:30. The final text was much more cohesive than what actually came out of my mouth: \u201cHey, let\u2019s get dinner today. Maybe we should get sushi. Should we meet up at 5:00?\u201d I don\u2019t typically use voice-to-text because I don\u2019t like being called out for rambling, but it looks like Rambler is here to fix just that.<\/p>\n

\"\"If someone texts you the name of a restaurant, you\u2019ll see an option to open up a summary directly within messages.Celso Bulgatti\/CNET<\/p>\n

Detailed visual cards<\/p>\n

Choosing where to eat is one of my least favorite activities because, as my Rambler example demonstrates, I am wildly indecisive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, with detailed visual cards through Gemini Intelligence, when someone texts you a restaurant suggestion, you\u2019ll see a prompt above the text bar to open an AI overview right in messages. That way, you can get more information about that spot without opening a new window. You can also tap to open Google Maps to determine if it\u2019s worth the trek.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can also use this feature to quickly share your flight information. If someone texts, \u201cWhat is your flight number to New York?\u201d Gemini will pull those details from Gmail, so that person can track your arrival, and you don\u2019t have to dig.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"You can now use Circle to Search without snapping a picture. Just open up the camera and circle anything in the viewfinder.Celso Bulgatti\/CNET<\/p>\n

Circle to Search in the viewfinder<\/p>\n

Circle to Search<\/a> is one of my favorite features because it lets you quickly look up anything on your phone\u2019s screen by just circling an image, such as an outfit or accessory. I typically use this if I want to buy a product I spot online, like when I\u2019m scrolling through Instagram.<\/p>\n

Now, you can use Circle to Search by just launching your Pixel 11\u2019s camera, holding down the navigation bar and circling what\u2019s in your viewfinder \u2013 no need to actually snap the photo. That means you can eliminate one step without cluttering your Photos app with random images you don\u2019t actually want to save.<\/p>\n

I tried this out by holding the Pixel 11 Pro XL\u2019s camera up to some fresh white kicks someone was wearing, and it showed me a handful of links to buy my own pair of Nike Air Force 1s. I also used Circle to Search to identify a plant, which is apparently called a California Glory Flannel Bush. I typically use Google Lens to do that, but I suppose I now have another option for quickly searching an image.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gboard and Live Translate now work with American Sign Language.Google<\/p>\n

Sign-language-to-text<\/p>\n

One of AI\u2019s most important contributions is arguably its ability to make certain features more accessible<\/a>. That\u2019s the case with Google\u2019s new sign-language-to-text (SL2T) translation model, which allows people who are deaf to sign to their phone instead of typing. Starting with Pixel 11, people can use Gboard and Live Transcribe to translate American Sign Language<\/a> to English. More devices will get this capability, and additional languages will be added soon, Google says.<\/p>\n

People who are deaf or hard of hearing can now sign to search the web, compose messages or draft documents, or ask Gemini to execute a task using ASL. They can also use Live Transcribe to sign responses in conversations instead of typing back and forth. That can make for a faster and more natural exchange.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSign languages convey meaning through simultaneous movements of the hands, arms, torso, head and face,\u201d a Google blog post reads. \u201cAccurately tracking these at high frame rates is a difficult and computationally demanding computer vision task.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SL2T model is trained on over 100,000 hours of sign language data across more than 50 languages, according to Google, with around a quarter of the data in ASL. To protect people\u2019s privacy, the company says an \u201con-device model tracks the location of points on the signer, and only these geometric coordinates are sent to the server for translation, allowing the original video to be discarded immediately.\u201d That sequence is then directly translated into text.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spend a lot of time making sure our phones work for everybody,\u201d said Shenaz Zack, senior director of product management at Google. \u201cWe have to solve for all our users, because this phone is not for only one user.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zack says practicality is at the center of all the new Gemini Intelligence features launching on the Pixel 11 series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we help our users get back to doing what they love and not worry about the cognitive load? That\u2019s what guides us across all of these areas,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to make sure that we\u2019re solving the problems that users need solving.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even when those problems are relatively minor, like switching the language of a YouTube video. At least now I know what to work toward as I brush up on my Spanish.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Abrar\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAbrar Al-Heeti\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSenior Technology Reporter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAbrar’s interests include phones, streaming, autonomous vehicles, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. In addition to her current role, she’s worked for CNET’s video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco — steep inclines and all.
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