Google shuts down Pixel Studio, pushing AI image generation to Gemini after two years

Google shuts down the AI image app Pixel Studio - Engadget

Google has shut down its Pixel Studio app with the latest update, according to a report by 9to5Google. The AI-powered image generation app launched less than two years ago and received a fairly substantial content update last year. The app now redirects users to Gemini. The software update that bricks Pixel Studio is rolling out now, but it could take a while to reach everyone. Once downloaded, the main interface displays a prominent "Open Gemini" button that leads to the Play Store. It also suggests that users try Nano Banana for image generation. We've known this was coming for a while. Google announced it was winding down Pixel Studio back in February and has been slowly stripping away core functionalities. For instance, the photo editor was completely stripped of AI tools a few months back. Pixel Studio was introduced in 2024, alongside the Pixel 9 smartphone. It was an app dedicated to AI image generation, like many others. Users could input prompts to quickly whip up images and it could also do stuff like create stickers based on pre-existing photos. Join me in pouring one out for the shuttered app as it heads to the Google graveyard.

Google just killed Pixel Studio's free unlimited image generation

Chandra Steele has been writing about tech for the entirety of her journalism career. She loves making tough topics easy to understand. Before joining Android Police, Chandra was senior features writer at PCMag where she did everything from interviewing Jeff Goldblum to explaining crypto. If you use Pixel Studio, know that your last prompt was your final one if you updated to the latest version. The app has been shut down by Google, with its features now folded into Gemini. The newest update for the app, Pixel Studio version 2.3, is its killer. It nukes the app and redirects users to Gemini for Nano Banana to handle AI image creation and editing. You won't find any word of the update's purpose in the release notes for it, though news of its demise started to spread back in February. For anyone who updated to version 2.3 and has stickers and images in their library, they can still access as well as share them. But for any changes, they'll have to be imported into the Gemini app. The app still works for anyone who has held off on the update. Everything is Gemini now The move to discontinue Pixel Studio is more part of Google's rolling up all of its AI offerings under Gemini than another unwelcome trip to the infamous Google graveyard. Pixel Studio debuted two years ago for the Pixel 9 and 10 series (and briefly was expanded to the Pixel 8 series). Its listing on the Play Store isn't the picture of a fan favorite. It has 2.9 stars, with most people saying they used it to make stickers. One person sums up their review with " it's just a bit of a party trick, not much more." While the app won't be the most missed, the cost difference between Pixel Studio and Gemini might make memories of it a little more fond. Pixel Studio allowed for unlimited image generation and editing at no cost. Gemini, on the other hand, is limited, with a menu of plans at the ready for regular users. Google added visual tasks to Gemini with the introduction of Nano Banana in August of last year. It's now in its second generation and has seen welcome improvements like sharper images. Of course, the world is not short of AI image generators beyond Nano Banana in Gemini. ChatGPT, Adobe Firefly, Canva, and many others all handle the same tasks that Pixel Studio could. Gemini's new trick could save your AI-generated designs The worst part of AI image generation might be over Posts 1 By Ben Khalesi

Google shuts down Pixel Studio with the latest app update

Google is shutting down its AI-powered Pixel Studio app less than two years after its debut and instead pushing users over to Gemini and Nano Banana for image generation. As confirmed to 9to5Google back in February, Google is shutting down the Pixel Studio app with the latest update. Pixel Studio v2.3, rolling out now, completely shuts down the app, directing users to Gemini instead (thanks for the tip David!). Pixel Studio was an app essentially dedicated to AI image generation. Users could input a prompt to create a quick image, with the app housing a library of past creations. Those prompts could also include existing images, or create stickers instead of standard images. The app first launched on the Pixel 9 series, quickly going off the rails before Google refined the app over time. Later updates added Gboard integration, people generation, and generative AI editing tools, among other updates. Google started removing portions of the Pixel Studio app through its last update, but v2.3 completely disables it. The update, which appears to be rolling out slowly, removes the main interface for generating images, instead just showing a prominent "Open Gemini" button that leads to the Play Store, with a message above that says "To create images and animations, try Nano Banana in the Gemini app." Existing creations still exist in the app as Google hinted. While the update isn't widely available yet, the folks over at Android Authority managed to get an APK and shared screenshots of the Pixel Studio app in its shut down state.

Google Just Shutdown a Pixel Exclusive App

As a part of the Pixel 9 Pro launch, Google went all-in on AI and Gemini, giving us several experiences that all leaned on the up-and-coming tech. One of those features was a new app for the Pixel 9 series called Pixel Studio. Pixel Studio was an image generation app that never really found its footing. It was exclusive to Pixel phones and was there for those needing AI to create silly digital greeting cards and stickers that could be shared. It offered some themes, let you save a library of images it had created, could create from your own photos, and that was mostly it. Google is apparently done with Pixel Studio and has started slowly issuing an update that will close it down. The update will arrive as Pixel Studio v2.3 and it'll essentially take out any of the creating side of it. Once updated, it'll be there to hold your library of projects and that's it. I'm not sure any of us will shed a tear for Pixel Studio. In the world of AI and image generation, it was an early concept that was never meant to be around long. It was a toy on only a few Pixel phones that owners of those phones didn't care for. It currently holds a 3.0-star rating on Google Play. Google has plenty of ways for you to make cringey AI slop, in case you were worried about what you'll do as Pixel Studio closes down. The Gemini app has Nano Banana built-in and will make whatever you want it to.