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Google pulls Daily Hub AI feature from Pixel 10 phones
Google is one of the most ardent proponents of generative AI technology, as evidenced by the recent launch of the Pixel 10 series. The phones were announced with more than 20 new AI experiences, according to Google. However, one of them is already being pulled from the company's phones. If you go looking for your Daily Hub, you may be disappointed. Not that disappointed, though, as it has been pulled because it didn't do very much. Many of Google's new AI features only make themselves known in specific circumstances, for example when Magic Cue finds an opportunity to suggest an address or calendar appointment based on your screen context. The Daily Hub, on the other hand, asserted itself multiple times throughout the day. It appeared at the top of the Google Discover feed, as well as in the At a Glance widget right at the top of the home screen. Just a few weeks after release, Google has pulled the Daily Hub preview from Pixel 10 devices. You will no longer see it in Google Discover nor in the home screen widget. After being spotted by 9to5Google, the company has issued a statement explaining its plans. "To ensure the best possible experience on Pixel, we're temporarily pausing the public preview of Daily Hub for users. Our teams are actively working to enhance its performance and refine the personalized experience. We look forward to reintroducing an improved Daily Hub when it's ready," a Google spokesperson said. It's not surprising that Google has hit pause on Daily Hub. Google's approach to mobile AI relies on the Tensor processor's capable NPU. Pixel phones process your personal data on-device rather than sending it to the cloud, which is how Daily Hub is supposed to glean insights into your life. The problem is that it doesn't do that very well. As we mentioned in our review of the Pixel 10 series, Daily Hub's premise is similar to Samsung's Now Brief. They both pull in data from your apps and run it all through on-device AI models to create a digest of your life that is refreshed multiple times per day. Samsung has continued promoting Now Brief as its chief AI innovation despite the fact that it rarely offers more than the weather and calendar reminders. Google's Daily Hub was in a similar place, but it may have been even less useful. In our testing, Daily Hub rarely showed anything beyond the weather, suggested videos, and AI search prompts. When it did integrate calendar data, it seemed unable to differentiate between the user's own calendar and data from shared calendars. This largely useless report was pushed to the At a Glance widget multiple times per day, making it more of a nuisance than helpful. Smartphones are overflowing with personal data, which is one of the reasons they are such attractive targets for hackers. Despite this, both Samsung and Google have found little success generating useful daily insights with on-device AI models. We wait with bated breath to see if Google can make Daily Hub worth using when it returns.
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Google pulls the Pixel 10's Daily Hub to 'enhance its performance'
When Google launched the Pixel 10 line last month, it gave as much attention to its AI-enabled software tricks as it did the hardware upgrades. But now, less than two weeks after the Pixel 10 series hit store shelves, its already pulled one of those AI features: Daily Hub, which collects the weather and your day's calendar events, and recommends online content you might want to read, watch, or listen to. In fairness to Google, Daily Hub was only ever in a "public preview," rather than a full release, but that hadn't stopped the company from advertising the phones with it. The company has now paused that preview, a spokesperson telling 9to5Google that it is "actively working to enhance its performance and refine the personalized experience." Apparently Google will reintroduce "an improved Daily Hub when it's ready." The public preview meant that Daily Hub hadn't appeared on every Pixel 10 yet anyway -- my 10 Pro XL press sample never got it. My colleague Allison did get to try Daily Hub, but going by her impressions it may be for the best that Google is pulling it for now: If voice translation is halfway between a helpful feature and a gimmick, then Daily Hub leans even further into gimmick territory. It's a lot like the Now Brief Samsung introduced on its S25 phones, and it's supposed to act as a quick digest for your day as well as a place to find some inspiration based on your recent activity. It does the first part of that job just fine; it's maybe a more longwinded version of Google's At a Glance widget, which gives you a heads up on the weather and upcoming calendar events. But it also misconstrued some of my recent Google search history in puzzling and hilarious ways. I looked up the schedule for our recycling service, provided by Waste Management, and it took that to mean that I'm interested in learning more about waste management generally. Uh, not quite.
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Pixel 10's Daily Hub Feature Removed as Google Works on Improvements
Don't miss out on our latest stories. Add PCMag as a preferred source on Google. One of Google's key new Android AI features, which debuted on the Pixel 10 series in August, has been pulled for the foreseeable future so the company can work on improvements. The Daily Hub feature was designed to show personalized elements at the top of your Discover feed bringing in more data than the typical list of news articles and websites. It's designed to show your calendar details, reminders, weather updates, and even data from third-party apps, such as new episodes of podcasts you listen to. It's similar to how the AI-powered Now Brief works on Samsung phones. Now, Google has said it has removed to tool so its teams can work on improvements. If you own a Pixel 10 device, you'll no longer have access to the feature. The news was confirmed in a statement provided to 9to5Google, who first noticed the feature had been removed. A Google spokesperson told the website, "To ensure the best possible experience on Pixel, we're temporarily pausing the public preview of Daily Hub for users. Our teams are actively working to enhance its performance and refine the personalized experience. We look forward to reintroducing an improved Daily Hub when it's ready." The feature launched in a public preview, which is often how Google introduces new software features to its Pixel series. It meant the option to use Daily Hub had a clear Preview note above the main feed, so all users knew it was in early access rather than a finalized feature. However, this was turned on by default for Pixel 10 series users. It's unclear when Google will be reintroducing the feature, but it may be a while until the brand thinks it has done enough to fix the functionality. The feature has been criticized by many, including Android Authority's Joe Maring who said the Daily Hub in its current form was "one of the worst Pixel features" he'd ever used. His main criticism is how many of the recommendations are either generic or irrelevant to his interests. Not all AI features on the Pixel 10 series are receiving criticism. PCMag's review of the flagship Google Pixel 10 Pro XL said, "The phone's AI-assisted photography remains a huge selling point, but Voice Translate and Pixel Studio demonstrate the power of the Pixel 10's Tensor G5-powered AI tools."
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Google made a mistake by removing Daily Hub
I'm disappointed that Google removed Daily Hub from Pixel 10 devices. I understand it was a public preview, and the company wants to work on improving the feature, but it's the wrong move. It amplifies a growing sentiment that Google's new Gemini functions weren't ready for prime time -- an opinion I disagree with. I expected the company's new approach to AI to go through some growing pains, but the underlying premise is correct. I want AI to be out of the way, only popping into the user experience when needed. Daily Hub did that. While it absolutely needs to do more, and Google is right to work on the feature, removing it entirely sends the wrong message. Here's why. Daily Hub worked well as a public preview Providing the occasional generative info It may be that my expectations are so low for AI at this point that anything that feels generative is going to meet my standard. Daily Hub was unoffensive. It lived in the upper-left corner of your Google Discover feed. It wasn't earth-shattering. It often displayed the weather and some YouTube recommendations. However, I like how Google laid out the upcoming calendar information, giving me a clear list of what the week ahead looked like. I also appreciated the generative touches. It knew my bowling season was starting, so it prompted me to check out some bowling stat applications to track my progress throughout the season. It must've somehow known I was also the secretary of my league, because it left prompts for software that would help me run things. It's not something I would go out of my way to use, but Daily Hub kept to itself, which is more than I can say for Samsung's competing AI product. Now Brief is in your face and even more useless Updates have improved it, but it's taken a long time Two wrongs don't make a right, but I look towards Samsung's Now Brief and wonder why Google didn't think it had more time to fix Daily Hub while it was still live. Now Brief has been living on my Galaxy S25 device for nine months, with little to show for it. I still haven't gotten anything that remotely feels generative from the content -- certainly no bowling recommendations. Samsung has added features, like parking spot reminders and traffic updates. Still, it took the company over six months to implement those features, and it's challenging to get them to work properly. The news stories never felt relevant to my interests, despite highlighting my preferences in Samsung News. It's been an overall unpleasant experience. Unlike Daily Hub, Samsung throws Now Brief in your face. I remove it from the home screen, but it always leaves reminders and bizarre messages in the Now Bar. Daily Hub in public preview was better than Now Brief's full release. That wasn't a tough competition, but it was something to build on. Pulling Daily Hub sends the wrong message Google needs to control the story I know the company can lean on the fact that the Daily Hub was in public preview, and pulling it gives Google time to work on it further. However, the public relations reality is far different. It's seen as Google removing a feature that was on the new Pixel 10 devices just a couple of weeks after launch. It sparks a conversation that Google isn't ready to have: whether its Google Gemini enhancements were ready for prime time. Google has the right idea for implementing AI on smartphones. It's meant as a support agent, not a personal assistant who completes tasks for you. It definitely needs to improve. Google promised more than what Gemini is capable of on Pixel 10 devices currently, but the trend is moving in the right direction. I enjoy Magic Cue's user-friendly prompts, and Daily Hub was almost invisible on my Pixel 10. Google could've kept the feature going, testing out new capabilities and gauging feedback. Instead, users are questioning whether it needs to be there, not the desired outcome. Google needs to stay the course Everyone who's used technology long enough knows that everything Google demonstrated for the Pixel 10 series wouldn't work exactly as advertised right out of the box. However, the company has the right goals in mind, and the things that do work function well. If you're someone who doesn't want AI controlling the final outcome of what you're doing, the Pixel 10 is still the best phone to buy. Google Pixel 10 9 / 10 SoC Google Tensor G5 RAM 12GB Storage 128GB / 256GB Battery 4970mAh This striking-looking addition to the Pixel line offers a slew of Gemini features, an 5x telephoto lens, and seven years of updates, making this a smartphone that will last you a while. $799 at Amazon $799 at Best Buy Expand Collapse
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Google pulls this Pixel 10 feature after a rough public preview
Google's newest Pixels -- the Pixel 10 lineup -- pack several new AI features. Daily Hub is one of them, showing a personalized digest in the Discover feed that appears each morning and evening, pulling in details from your calendar, reminders, weather, and third-party apps. In practice, though, Daily Hub felt clunky and unfinished, providing a half-baked experience -- not surprising given its public preview status. The company has acknowledged the flaws with the feature, pulling it from its new Pixels as it works on improving the experience. In many ways, think of Daily Hub as Google's version of Samsung's Now Brief. However, it failed to deliver on its promise, with the recommendations not being useful or superficial. For example, it shows the weather status but only the temperature -- there are no hourly forecasts or other weather-related updates. imilarly, the video recommendations, which Daily Hub pulls from YouTube and other compatible apps, mostly seem random and not based on the user's past viewing history. Realizing that Daily Hub is not up to par, Google has decided to pull the feature temporarily. The company issued the following statement to 9to5Google about this: To ensure the best possible experience on Pixel, we're temporarily pausing the public preview of Daily Hub for users. Our teams are actively working to enhance its performance and refine the personalized experience. We look forward to reintroducing an improved Daily Hub when it's ready. Daily Hub will return when it's ready Google only says it will relaunch Daily Hub when "it's ready," which can mean anything between a few weeks to a few months. Since the company has pulled the feature from the server-side, Daily Hub will automatically stop appearing at the top of your Pixel's Discover feed and At a Glance widget. Ideally, Google shouldn't have shipped the Pixel 10 with Daily Hub, given how poorly it worked. That said, it's good to see the company realizing how bad the feature is and pulling it instead of leaving it in its broken state. Hopefully, when it relaunches, Daily Hub will actually provide useful recommendations and help you stay on top of your day.
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Google has temporarily removed the Daily Hub AI feature from its Pixel 10 phones due to performance issues and user dissatisfaction. The company plans to enhance and refine the feature before reintroducing it.
Google has temporarily removed the Daily Hub AI feature from its recently launched Pixel 10 series smartphones, citing the need for improvements and refinements. The feature, which was introduced as part of Google's push into generative AI technology, aimed to provide users with a personalized daily digest of information
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.Daily Hub was designed to appear at the top of the Google Discover feed and in the At a Glance widget on the home screen. It aimed to collect and display various types of information, including:
The feature was meant to process personal data on-device using the Tensor processor's NPU, rather than sending information to the cloud
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.Google's decision to pull Daily Hub stems from several factors:
Limited Functionality: Users reported that the feature rarely showed anything beyond basic information like weather and suggested videos
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.Inaccurate Personalization: The feature struggled to differentiate between the user's own calendar and shared calendars, leading to irrelevant information being displayed
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.User Dissatisfaction: Some users found the feature to be more of a nuisance than helpful, as it appeared multiple times per day with largely useless information
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.Misinterpretation of User Data: In some cases, Daily Hub misconstrued users' recent search history, leading to puzzling and irrelevant recommendations
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.Related Stories
Google has acknowledged the issues with Daily Hub and issued a statement explaining their decision:
"To ensure the best possible experience on Pixel, we're temporarily pausing the public preview of Daily Hub for users. Our teams are actively working to enhance its performance and refine the personalized experience. We look forward to reintroducing an improved Daily Hub when it's ready," a Google spokesperson said
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.The removal of Daily Hub highlights the challenges faced by smartphone manufacturers in implementing useful AI features:
Samsung's Now Brief: A similar feature on Samsung phones has also struggled to provide meaningful insights despite having more time in the market
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.On-Device AI Limitations: Both Google and Samsung have found it difficult to generate useful daily insights using on-device AI models, despite the abundance of personal data on smartphones
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.Public Relations Impact: The removal of Daily Hub so soon after the Pixel 10's launch has sparked discussions about whether Google's Gemini AI enhancements were ready for public use
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.As Google works on improving Daily Hub, the tech community eagerly awaits its return, hoping for a more refined and useful AI-powered feature that can truly enhance the smartphone user experience.
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