Ryan Haynes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google may be preparing to bring the Pixel Studio app to the Pixel 8 series.
- This app is currently exclusive to the Pixel 9 series.
- The app uses on-device AI and Google’s Imagen 3 AI model to generate images from text prompts.
Google appears to be preparing to roll out the Pixel Studio app to the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel 8a. Android permissions and Assemble Debug have found evidence that suggests Generative AI image creation apps could become a mainstay in 2023. It is currently exclusive to the Pixel 9 series and uses AI to generate images from text commands.
We found new APK stubs for Pixel Studio on APK Mirror. A note on the website says this is from a Pixel 8 Pro with the recent Android 15 update. Further investigation confirmed that the same APK stub was also pre-installed on Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a running Android 15.
An APK stub looks exactly like the app it represents and is signed with the same security key. However, this is essentially a placeholder with no actual app content. Instead, just direct users to the Play Store to download the full app. This allows device manufacturers to embed apps without using too much storage space. Google needs to grant Play Store entry for Pixel Studio so that Pixel 8 series users can officially download the app. So while APK stubs exist for Android 15 updates for older Pixels, Google needs to flip a switch on the backend before users can get Pixel Studio.
Another piece of evidence we found is com.google.android.feature.PIXEL_2024_EXPERIENCE Feature flags from the app. This flag was available in all previous Pixel Studio APKs. It will be used for devices launching in 2024 (basically the Pixel 9 series). This removal signals that Google is ready to roll out the Pixel Studio app to older devices.
This is also why sideloading previous APKs of Pixel Studio apps doesn’t currently work on Pixel 8, 8 Pro, and 8a. Previous versions of the APK include a flag that requires the Pixel device to be from 2024 or later, i.e. a Pixel 9 series smartphone. So even if you sideload Pixel Studio right now, the APK will refuse to open if the 2024 feature flag is not found in your system. This is obviously not available on the Pixel 8 series.
On the other hand, we have confirmed that the Pixel 7 series does not appear to be able to get the app at this time. APK stubs were not available on Pixel 7 running Android 15.
