In June, we caught wind of an upcoming Pixel feature called Magic Cue. Apparently an evolution of an AI assistant project for Pixel phones initially conceived as Pixie, Magic Cue will reportedly “show you useful details and time-saving actions based on the app you’re using.” Now, thanks to reporting by Mishaal Rahman for Android Authority, we’ve gotten more official confirmation Magic Cue exists from code in the latest Android Canary build.
Rahman writes that, in the latest Android Canary build’s SystemUI app, Android Authority found code that references the features previously referred to as Magic Cue. An alert titled “Get helpful suggestions” reads that “We use AI to proactively suggest info and actions relevant to what you’re doing on screen.” There’s also text that says you can “see how suggestions are generated.”
A Magic Cue onboarding flow leaked in June.
None of the code in this Android Canary build refers to Magic Cue by name, and non-user-facing parts of the code even make reference to a feature called “ambient cue.” But as Rahman explains, the feature may be called ambient cue internally while still launching under the branded name Magic Cue.
Potentially launching on Pixel 10
As we understand it so far, Magic Cue will give Google’s AI access to the content of your screen to try to proactively provide information you might need. The setup flow we saw in June gave the example of a friend asking for your flight details in a chat app, and your phone fetching that info from your Gmail account for you, without your having to switch apps.
Given bits of Magic Cue are just now showing up in Android Canary — Google’s recently launched replacement for Android Developer Preview builds — it’s not clear when the feature will make its way to Pixel users generally. Google’s gearing up to launch its next generation of hardware on August 20; it’s likely we’ll hear more about Magic Cue then.
