Pixel Sense on the Pixel 10 sounds amazing, but I’m not sold on it yet

Earlier this week, Android Authority reported on a potentially game-changing software feature coming to the Google Pixel 10. This year’s Pixel phones should include a new “Pixel Sense” digital assistant, and based on what our source told us, Pixel Sense might be the assistant to end all other assistants.

Pixel Sense will be a new dedicated app for the Pixel 10 series, and it’s described as giving you a “more personalized experience based on the things you do on your Pixel.” It should be able to look at your Gmail inbox, phone calls and messages, Google Docs files, YouTube history, and more to deliver personalized, contextual info when you need it.

On paper, all of this sounds great. Google’s Pixel-exclusive features are rarely duds, and Pixel Sense has the potential to be the best one we’ve seen in years. An app that can look at everything in my Google account — and local files on my phone — to give me suggestions, reminders, etc., in one centralized place? It sounds like the type of digital assistant we’ve been waiting for since the early days of Google Now and the dawn of Google Assistant.

However, as good as this sounds in theory — and as much as I want Pixel Sense to succeed — I can’t help but feel some lingering hesitation about the feature.

If Pixel Sense seems familiar, that’s because it sounds almost exactly like what Samsung is pitching with its Now Brief feature on the Galaxy S25 series. In Samsung’s own words, Now Brief gives you “personalized briefings throughout your day” based on your calendar, contacts, digital wallet, etc.

Similar to what we know about Pixel Sense, Now Brief is also supposed to be a one-stop shop for everything you do on your phone: a place to see helpful and relevant info about your day, all powered by AI.

While that sounds good in theory, in practice, Now Brief has proven extremely disappointing. I used it for weeks on my Galaxy S25, and day after day, my Now Brief consisted of two things: weather forecasts and random news articles. The presentation is great, but the quality and substance of Now Brief’s suggestions leave so much to be desired.

Now Brief has never once made using my phone any easier, and as much as I love the idea of it, the execution just isn’t there. Given the stark similarities between Now Brief and what we know about Pixel Sense, I’m concerned Google may find itself in a similar situation. Curating and contextualizing everything we do on our phones into one centralized app is a tall order, and as impressive as it could be when it all works, Now Brief is a prime example of what happens when it doesn’t.

That all said, there’s one substantial difference with Pixel Sense that can’t be overlooked. Whereas Now Brief heavily relies on you to use Samsung apps and live within the Samsung ecosystem to get the most out of it, Pixel Sense will center around your Google account. That means tight integration with your activity in Gmail, Chrome, Google Photos, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Wallet, YouTube/YouTube Music, and so on.

For me — and I imagine most of you reading this — that sounds infinitely more useful than Now Brief’s tie-ins with things like Samsung Health, Samsung News, and Samsung Notes.

I like some of Samsung’s apps/services, but so much of my life revolves around Google ones. My three email accounts are Gmail ones. I take all of my notes in Google Keep, Google Tasks is my to-do list app of choice, and I have years of pictures in Google Photos. Having something like Now Brief or Pixel Sense take its information from my Google life instead of my Samsung one could be reason enough to make it work.

However, even with that advantage on its side, there are still some other things that could make or break Pixel Sense. For me, one of the biggest is third-party app support.

As much as I use Google apps, I don’t only use Google apps. I do a lot of shopping on the Amazon, Target, and Walmart apps. I sometimes order food on DoorDash when I’m feeling lazy. I use the ESPN app to keep up with college basketball games, and I regularly journal on Day One.

Pixel Sense being a home for all of our Google info/activity is a great start, but Google needs to ensure it expands to the other apps we use, too. If Google wants Pixel Sense to help me with everything I do on my phone, it needs to actually help with everything — not just help with Google services.

My colleague Rita also made a good point about how she’d like to see Pixel Sense support multiple Google accounts. And I have to agree with her. As someone with two Gmail accounts for work and a personal one, I’d love to see Pixel Sense show information for all of them. Getting info from my personal Gmail inbox and Google Calendar would be great, but I hope Pixel Sense is smart enough to pull from my work accounts, too. That shouldn’t be too much of an ask in 2025.

There’s still so much we don’t know about Pixel Sense. We don’t know what the UI looks like, if it’ll come to older Pixel phones, or if it will cost anything. That’s all information we’ll learn in due time, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.

I hope Google proves my concerns wrong and that Pixel Sense becomes the best Pixel feature Google has shipped in years. I want it to be amazing. But given how badly Samsung fumbled Now Brief — and how many questions about Pixel Sense still remain — I’m refraining from getting too excited just yet.

Google has a chance to make Pixel Sense something special. Let’s just hope it does.