These days, no self-respecting tech company would be caught dead without some buzzworthy AI features in its back pocket. On the same day Google debutedAndroid 14, it simultaneously took the wraps off itsPixel 8 series, and the company sent presenter after presenter onto the stage to brag about all the new AI functionality in its latest products. It was fairly impressive, even if some of those featuresstill needed time to cook. Now, Google has launched a new system app that looks to help carry these machine learning features forward on Android 14 devices.
Asreported by Nail Sadykov, editor of the Google News Telegram channel,a new AICore listinghas appeared on the Google Play Store. Evidence of this app’s existence was first spotted byMishaal Rahman on Twitterwhen the code sleuth noted that Android 14 contained a stub for this app — a practice Google routinely employs when it’s readying a new system app that will receive updates through the Play Store.
At the moment, it’s not abundantly clear exactly what this app will do — however, Google’s description says that it powers “intelligent features across Android” and that it “provides apps with the latest AI models.” The listing will currently only load when viewed from a Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro, but this phrasing seems to suggest wider availability may be in the cards down the road. And asMishaal Rahman pointed out on Telegram, the required OS version is listed as Android 12+, and stubs for the app are also present on builds of Android 14 for other Pixel phones.
Google’s screenshots for the app offer a little more insight. As you may recall, the company made a point in its presentation on October 4 to herald the Pixel 8 Pro as the first phone with an entire AI foundational model available completely on-device. Much of this language is mirrored in the first screenshot, which states “AI-driven features run directly on your device using the latest foundational models.” So it’s possible this will be used to update that on-device model, and if expanded availability is in the cards, it could potentially bring the entirely on-device foundational model to other phones. But that is pure speculation at this point.
The naming convention is a familiar one at least, with Google also maintaining anARCoreapp that brings similar updates to backend functionality. And the shroud of mystery surrounding the app’s exact purpose is perfectly on-brand for Google’s AI efforts — like CEO Sundar Pichai said inan interview on 60 Minutesearlier this year, “There is an aspect of [AI] which we call … a black box. You know, you don’t fully understand.”
