Gemini Live Makes Pixel 9a a Smarter Choice?

The Pixel 9a is very competitively priced, with the same processor as its big brother, the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro. The only downside is the camera, which is still relatively decent. But the biggest upside is that it now comes with Gemini Live free for all Pixel 9 phones, a paid feature from Gemini Advanced that would normally cost SGD28.99 per month.

Going Live with Gemini on the Pixel 9a

What is Gemini Live?

We need to start with what Gemini Live is. To explain simply, you are giving eyes to your AI, allowing you to ask questions about almost anything you see. It's almost like your Meta Ray-Ban feature but powered by Gemini, a much more powerful LLM compared to Meta AI.

Have you heard of the Hanayama Infinity Puzzle?

'I Spy' for Adults

We tested out with some universally known items which are not exactly very common items, but maybe items that are more common in the western world, or just things where you would be able to find information about on Google.

First, we tried asking what the Hanayama Infinity Puzzle is and how we can solve it, of course without really telling it what it is. Gemini Live did a good job recognising what the item is, which is probably one of those things that 80-90% of the population in the world didn't know existed. It managed to give some good advice on how to solve it. It would be great though if it actually showed a YouTube video of it, or maybe AR instructions would be cool, but that's asking too much.

A Log Hop Station which most use it as a balancing beam

The second item that impressed us was one of those foreign-looking public exercise station which is hard to figure out what it is and how to use. Gemini Live managed to determine quickly that it's the Log Hop station and even gave instructions on how to use it.

We also tried showing Gemini Live the fruits on a plant. It managed to very quickly determine that the plant is the fruit from the Indian ornament tree and even told us the fruit is not really poisonous but not really edible for humans. This is a perfect outing tool for parents with children at the age where they keep asking "what is this" over and over again.

Gemini Food Review

Of course, we needed to ask about food in Singapore. Singapore being the melting pot of cultures, we get a wonderful range of food from different cultures. We went to our favourite cafe "House Downstairs" at Ghim Moh CC and ordered our favourite, the rösti with scrambled eggs and simply asked Gemini Live "how many calories are there in this dish?" without specifying what we are eating. It quickly identified that it's a plate of rösti but missed the scrambled eggs on the side. It told us that it's about 300-400 calories and added a disclaimer that it is a 'guess-timate' because it depends on how it's cooked. So politically correct...

Rosti and Scrambled Eggs are Real

Next, we asked about a packet of char siew and roast duck rice. It managed to identify the roast duck and gave a 'guess-timate' on the calories, but again it failed to identify the roast pork on the side. To be fair, with all that dark sauce, it did look like a mysterious blob that probably requires local expertise to identify and appreciate. It seems to consistently struggled with combination dishes, possibly due to the countless permutations of food combinations that aren't well-documented online.

Chin Swee Road Not

Miss the Bus

How convenient would it be if we could just whip our phone out and get Gemini to give us directions on how to get to our next destination, which direction to go, what bus to take, which can be very helpful especially when we are overseas. Of course, you can launch your Google Maps to do that, but it can also be hits and misses using Google Maps as it doesn't always determine your exact location well, especially at times when roads or bus stops are too close together. Sometimes it's not even able to give you very accurate directions if the GPS signal is a little patchy.

If Google Maps could see and tell you which bus stop to wait at and the exact direction you need to go, it would be the perfect travel companion. But of course, we are wishful. Unfortunately, Gemini Live is not connected to your Google Maps and probably doesn't have access to your GPS. We were on North Buona Vista Road and tried asking for directions on how to get to Orchard Road. It actually thought that we were at Chin Swee Road. We also tried asking for the bus to take to our destination at a bus stop, but it also failed to identify our exact location.

Connecting the Dots

Think of AI as the brain and giving it eyes is just the first step to making it extremely powerful and useful. Imagine if Google were to seamlessly connect all its wonderful services together where Gemini could see where you are, check your calendar, know your preferences from Gmail, and understand what you like from your browsing history, it could actually know you better than you know yourself and maybe even predict your next step before you ask. A Super Agent is likely on the way.