There is also "shared area" in mobile phone memory. Google's new phone has a dedicated "AI" space.

Not long ago, Google launched the annually updated Pixel 10 series of flagship models at Made by Google. As the real vane of Android phones, the Pixel 10 series models this time showed off their capabilities with real - time voice translation, turning humming into songs, Magic Cue, and Camera Coach.

While Apple's Apple Intelligence on the other side is still underperforming, Google is now a standout in the field of mobile AI. However, seizing this rare opportunity window for the successful "beach - landing" of the Pixel 10 series isn't without cost. If consumers aren't specifically coming for the AI capabilities of these new phones, they'll have to pay for features they don't need.

Recently, overseas tech media Android Authority analyzed the standard - version Pixel 10 of this series and found that out of the 12GB of memory, Google specifically allocated 3.5GB for AI functions, which can only be accessed by the TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) of the Tensor G5. It seems that this time, for the sake of on - device AI functions, Google not only "reversely upgraded" the GPU on the Tensor G5 but also made changes to the memory.

In contrast, the Pixel 9, which also has 12GB of memory, doesn't have the design of "AI - exclusive memory". It's not hard to see that the changes Google made to the Pixel 10 may very well come from the lessons learned from the Pixel 9 series. Since the data throughput of on - device large models needs to be completed locally, to ensure a good user experience, sufficient memory is required to store the entire model on the device. If flash memory is used, tasks such as AI conversations and AI photo editing will take minutes to complete.

Imagine if a user wants to use the "turn humming into songs" function of the Pixel 10. If flash memory is used for data interaction, they may have to wait for more than ten minutes for the phone to generate a song. In today's fast - paced environment, few users would have the patience for that. Additionally, on - device AI requires high - speed caching and greater memory bandwidth, so it will definitely occupy a certain amount of memory during operation.

The problem is that the Pixel 10 not only has AI functions but other apps also occupy some memory. As a result, once users open too many apps, running on - device AI will directly cause the system to freeze. Moreover, most users actually can't tell the difference between apps like ChatGPT, Doubao, and Yuanbao and the on - device deployed AI, and they don't understand that the performance overhead of the latter is actually no less than that of heavy - duty mobile games.

Therefore, Google planned a 3.5GB "AI - exclusive memory" on the Pixel 10 to solve the possible freezing problem when users use on - device AI and other apps simultaneously. As for why this "AI - exclusive memory" is 3.5GB, it's actually a result of specific calculations. Currently, the commonly used 7B - scale, 4 - bit quantized AI models for on - device AI consume 3.5GB to 4GB of memory.

Even without planning the "AI - exclusive memory", the conflict between on - device AI and multi - tasking needs can still be solved, which is by "killing background apps". Two or three years ago, when the power consumption level of SoCs increased significantly and there was an additional power - hungry 5G baseband, Android phone manufacturers chose to "kill background apps" more aggressively to ensure the battery life experience and make full use of physical memory.

Actually, it's not just Android. After iOS was updated to 18.4, many users found that the phenomenon of "killing background apps" was extremely serious, with the most prominent manifestation being "seeing the Earth screen every time you open WeChat". At that time, many users speculated that Apple might have allocated dedicated memory for Apple Intelligence.

Google's current approach is indeed more beneficial for the performance of Gemini AI on the Pixel 10, but it could become a hidden danger for its promise of providing seven - year system updates. After all, due to the existence of Andy - Bill's Law, any computing power improvement in hardware will always be consumed by new software. So, older models often struggle when facing new software.

The currently smooth - running Pixel 10 may struggle in four or five years, and whether 8.5GB of memory can meet the needs of apps seven years later is a big question. That is to say, Pixel 10 users may experience the phone becoming slower earlier in the actual use process. In short, Google uses the "AI - exclusive memory" to ensure that Pixel 10 users can fully utilize the AI capabilities in the first two years, but they haven't made public the cost of shortening the actual service life of the phone.

Of course, the biggest problem with Google's "AI - exclusive memory" design is actually that it deprives users of the right to choose. Although the "AI - exclusive memory" can help the Pixel 10 maximize the capabilities of on - device AI and let users feel the charm of AI deeply empowering the phone, not everyone needs the Magic Cue and Camera Coach supported by on - device AI. The app versions of ChatGPT and Doubao can actually meet the needs of many people.

In other words, the "AI - exclusive memory" designed by Google on the Pixel 10 means that consumers who aren't interested in AI functions are spending money unnecessarily. Although due to the increasingly complex functions of current smartphones, there are always some functions that users won't use, regardless of the type of consumer. However, memory is different from IP68 dust and water resistance and NFC. It's a basic component of the phone and directly affects performance.

For users who don't use on - device AI, Google may even be suspected of false advertising on the Pixel 10. After all, officially, they claim that the Pixel 10 has 12GB of memory. But if on - device AI isn't used, the real memory of the Pixel 10 is actually only 8.5GB. In the words of netizens, "Please mark the shared area separately and don't include it in the total area."

This article is from the WeChat official account "3eLife" (ID: IT - 3eLife), written by 3eLife Editor. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.