Google's AI Image-to-Video Tool Debuts on Honor Smartphones, Bypassing Pixel

Google's AI image-to-video generator launches on Honor's new phones

Dominic Preston is a news editor with over a decade's experience in journalism. He previously worked at Android Police and Tech Advisor. Chinese phone manufacturer Honor has launched an image-to-video AI generator powered by Google, before it's available to Gemini users. It will be available first for anyone who buys the Honor 400 or 400 Pro phones, which launch next week on May 22nd. The new AI tool, powered by Google's Veo 2 model, creates five-second videos based on static images, in either portrait or landscape, and takes a minute or two to generate each time. The feature is built directly into the Gallery app on the new Honor phones, and is designed to be simple: there's no option to include a text prompt along with the image, so you're stuck hoping that the AI does something sensible with it. Sometimes it works well. Give it a simple subject, like a clear photo of a person or pet, and it can generate quite realistic movement -- albeit I'm pretty sure my cat Noodle's tongue isn't quite that big. Other subjects prove trickier: faced with a vintage car it made it rotate impossibly on the spot; fresh tomatoes were fondled by a ghostly hand; and it imagined a women's soccer game with at least 27 players across three teams, with two referees to keep control of the chaos. The first time I tried it, on a self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh, it decided that the most appropriate thing would be for a pigeon to fly out of his eye. Note: Honor's app outputs videos in MP4, which we've converted to GIFs, slightly reducing the image quality of the clips. The image-to-video feature will be available to Honor 400 owners for free for the first two months, but with a limit of ten video generations per day. Honor's UK marketing director Chris Langley told me that it "will eventually require some subscription" from Google, but the details of that are unknown. Video generation using Veo 2 is already included in Google's paid Gemini Advanced subscription, but is currently limited to text input. Image-to-video generation is listed as one of Veo 2's features in Google Cloud, where Google charges customers 50 cents per second of output, but is available to "approved users" only.

Google's new AI video feature is rolling out on another company's smartphones

The feature produced five-second animated videos in portrait or landscape orientation from a single image. Google is showing off a new AI image-to-video feature using its Veo 2 model, but Google Pixel owners won't be able to use it just yet. Instead, Chinese phone company Honor, spun out of Huawei, is beating Pixel to the punch by incorporating the feature into its upcoming Honor 400 series of smartphones. The feature processes still images straight from your photo gallery into five-second animated clips. You don't need a Gemini subscription or even a cloud connection to make the videos. Honor 400 owners will be able to feed the tool any image, whether a new photo, an AI-generated cartoon, or even a classic painting. After about a minute, you'll see a video of some kind of motion based on the initial upload. The AI can simulate camera moves, make subjects breathe or blink, or otherwise imbue life into the pixels. Honor's place as the first home of the feature is born out of a deal with Google Cloud. It marks the first time the Veo 2 AI video model has been integrated directly into a smartphone. And while Gemini Advanced users can access a web-based version of Veo, Pixel owners don't have any special access to the video maker. Honor has pitched a lot of AI plans for the 500 series of phones. Google is providing several AI tools beyond the video generator. Google's Magic Eraser, AI Outpainting, and other creative flourishes are also baked into the smartphone's native camera and gallery apps. Of course, even the most magical AI gimmick won't mean much if the phone itself is junk. But by the looks of it, the Honor 400 and 400 Pro are coming in hot with some decent mid- to upper-tier specs and a starting cost of around $550. The Honor 400 phones will debut in China and Europe and are likely to appear in India too, but may not be seen much in the U.S. The ability to shoot, edit, and animate all from the same device without hopping between different apps might entice a lot of content creators and AI fans to pick the phone. Honor getting early access to Veo 2, when even Pixel phones don't have it yet, hints at a broader shift in how Google is approaching AI distribution. Rather than hoarding features for its own devices, it seems more interested in becoming an AI platform for the whole Android ecosystem, and potentially grabbing a little more influence in China while it's at it.

The First Smartphone to Get Google's AI Video Generator Isn't a Pixel

Last month, Google announced Veo 2, the company's latest AI video generation model. This model is currently capable of generating eight-second videos, as long as you pay for Gemini. If you pay for Google One AI Premium, you also have access to Whisk, an image generator that, via Veo 2, now lets you animate those images, too. (Free users are left out for now.) I wouldn't blame you if you assumed that whenever Google inevitably made Veo 2 free, Pixel users would get it first. After all, that's sort of Google's M.O.: Release new features first for the company's own smartphone line, before rolling them out to other devices and platforms. But with Veo 2, the company isn't doing that. The first smartphone users who will get to experience the video model for free aren't Pixel owners, but Honor owners -- a phone you can't even buy in the United States. As reported by The Verge, anyone who buys an Honor 400 or 400 Pro will be able to access Veo 2 for free via the Gallery app -- for the first two months, anyway. What's more, unlike Whisk, which only lets you animate images you generated with Whisk, Honor users will be able to use Veo 2 to animate pictures they took themselves. The Verge's Dominic Preston has access to a compatible Honor phone and shows off some examples of the feature in action. The highlight is an image Preston took of Grant Nicholas, musician for the band Feeder. The image shows Nicholas mid-lyric, strumming on his guitar. But after Veo 2 processes the image, it generates a short clip that, if you didn't know any better, you'd assume was a low-res clip of the singer playing the show. (The Verge says that the clips had to be converted to GIFs in order to include with the article, which does reduce the quality somewhat.) Preston was complimentary of the feature's abilities when presented with clear and simple subjects, like their pet cat. But Veo 2 struggled with more complicated images: For a photo of a vintage car, Veo 2 decided to rotate the car without turning the wheels, which looks quite odd. For a photo of a bunch of tomatoes, Veo 2 decided to animate a hand picking up some tomatoes, but the first time it comes into frame, the hand is translucent. Honor (or, perhaps Google) is limiting generations to 20 outputs per day. The Verge reports that Honor said Google will offer a subscription to the feature "eventually," but the company doesn't have specifics yet. But even if those limitations weren't present, I'm caught wondering who exactly is going to use this feature for any reason beyond a "party trick." Sure, new Honor users might enjoy playing around with the AI-generated videos on their favorite photos for a bit, but the results aren't necessarily useful. Who needs to regularly process their photos through a hit-or-miss video generator, especially if the feature will eventually require payment? It's a bit weird that Google is releasing this on a non-Pixel phone first, but, truth be told, I don't think Pixel users are missing out on much.

Plot twist: Google Veo 2 AI hits Honor prior to Pixel

Google is debuting an AI-powered image-to-video tool on Honor smartphones, beating Google Pixel phones to the feature. The tool, powered by Google's Veo 2 model, will be available on Honor's upcoming 400 series smartphones. The feature processes still images into five-second animated clips in portrait or landscape orientation without needing a Gemini subscription or cloud connection. Honor 400 owners can feed the tool any image, whether a new photo, an AI-generated cartoon, or a classic painting, to generate a video with simulated camera moves or animated subjects. Video: Honor Honor's integration of Veo 2 marks the first time the AI video model has been directly integrated into a smartphone. This deal is part of a broader collaboration between Honor and Google Cloud, providing several AI tools beyond the video generator, including Google's Magic Eraser and AI Outpainting. The Honor 400 series is set to launch in China and Europe on May 22, 2025, and may also appear in India. The phones start at around $550, with mid- to upper-tier specs. While the devices may not be widely available in the US, the integration of AI tools could attract content creators and AI enthusiasts. Honor's early access to Veo 2 suggests Google is shifting its AI distribution strategy, potentially making AI features available across the Android ecosystem rather than reserving them for Pixel devices. This move could give Google more influence in the Chinese market and beyond.

Honor 400 Series Could Bring an AI Image-to-Video Tool

The new AI tool can generate up to 5-second-long videos The new AI tool can generate up to 5-second-long videos Users can reportedly make 10 videos per day Honor 400 series is set to be launched globally on May 22. Ahead of the launch, the Chinese consumer tech brand has teased a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature of the upcoming smartphone series. It will get a new AI-powered image-to-video tool that can animate a static image. While not a lot is known about the new feature, reports claim that it can generate up to five-second-long videos with a single image. This AI feature is said to be powered by Google. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the official global account of Honor teased a new "AI Image to Video" feature for the Honor 400 series smartphones. This AI tool will be available to the entire series. Describing the AI tool, the Huawei sub-brand said that it "can effortlessly transform your images into captivating videos." The post also shared a video of the feature, showcasing the capability of the AI tool. Honor did not reveal a lot about the feature at the moment. However, according to a Huawei Central report, the AI image-to-video feature will be powered by Google's Veo 2 model, which was released earlier this year. Essentially it is a live photo feature that can animate a video, but it doesn't exactly use that image as a reference to generate creative videos. As per the report, the tool will generate up to five-second-long videos from a single static image. Additionally, the publication highlighted that the tool can generate videos from both portrait and landscape images, and takes about a couple of minutes to generate the output. The tool can reportedly be accessed from the phones Gallery app. However, one downside is that there is no option to add a text prompt to tell the AI what the user wants the video to look like. The image-to-video tool will reportedly be available to Honor 400 smartphone users for free for the first two months. During this period, users are said to get 10 video generations per day. After that, it is speculated to require a subscription to generate videos. While details are unclear, the feature might require a Google One AI Premium subscription.