Back in August, Google—and Jimmy Fallon—put on a big show to reveal the Pixel 10 series. A feature called “Magic Cue” was demoed during the event, and it seemed genuinely useful. Well, I’ve been using a Pixel 10 for three months, and I’m still waiting to be amazed.
Magic Cue is an AI feature, but I didn’t immediately write it off. The idea is it’s supposed to anticipate your needs and proactively suggest relevant information and actions. Google gave the example of being on a call with an airline, and Magic Cue automatically surfaces your flight details. The promise has not panned out, though.
The promise of Magic Cue
Let’s go back to August. Google put out a flurry of blog posts, commercials, and the big Made by Google event to reveal the Pixel 10 series. The company talked about a lot of stuff, but one thing that was mentioned everywhere was a brand new featured called “Magic Cue.”
As mentioned, Magic Cue is yet another AI feature for Pixel phones, but not all AI features are created equal. Last year, I found the “Pixel Screenshots” tool to be genuinely useful, and I felt like Magic Cue could be similar. It also reminded me of the long-forgotten Google Now.
Google Now was a service that would surface information when you needed it. For example, if you had a confirmation email from an airline, it would automatically pull up your boarding pass when you’re at the airport. It could also provide local recommendations based on your location. This all sounds pretty basic now, but it was extremely cool back in 2012.
Magic Cue was also billed as a tool that would intelligently provide information when you need it. Google showed it displaying flight information in the Phone app while you’re on a call with the airline, popping an address or phone number from your email on the screen in Messages when your friend asks about dinner reservations, creating a shortcut to specific photos when a friend asks to see your dog, and even pulling out song recommendations that you mentioned in other conversations.
All of that sounds pretty amazing—and it looked amazing too. I can imagine it being genuinely useful to have relevant information from my Google apps put in front of me when I need it. But what is Magic Cue like in the real world?
Magic Cue IRL
I reviewed the Pixel 10 earlier this year, and I gave it very high marks. The non-Pro model impressed me so much that I’ve been using it ever since. However, I wasn’t blown away by everything. Here’s what I had to say about Magic Cue three months ago:
Magic Cue was one AI feature that Google spent a lot of time talking about and demoing during the Made by Google event with Jimmy Fallon. The idea is to put handy information in front of you when you need it, like the name of a restaurant when a friend asks about your dinner reservation. I’ve had it enabled since day one, and it hasn’t appeared a single time in over two weeks of using the Pixel 10. I’m afraid this is another AI feature that sounds good on paper, but isn’t actually useful for the average person.
So, has anything changed since then? Sadly, no. Magic Cue has still not made it’s debut on my Pixel 10. Back then, it was somewhat understandable—there wasn’t a lot happening in my life. Since then, though, I’ve traveled across Europe on multiple flights and trains, and made countless dinner reservations while on vacation. Magic Cue never showed up.
It appears that I’m not alone in my experience with Magic Cue. Conor Cawley over at Android Police wrote about how it took several months for a Magic Cue to appear. Joe Maring at Android Authority had better luck getting Magic Cues to show up, but still wasn’t impressed. In a poll on 9to5Google, nearly 70% of Pixel users responded, “No—it hardly shows up.”
For their part, Google has updated Magic Cue and given it the ability to process information across more apps. Eventually, it could become a genuinely useful tool for me and other Pixel users. However, as it stands, there’s not much “magic” in Magic Cue. I hope to someday see some.
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Brand
Google
SoC
Google Tensor G5
Display
6.3-inch Actua OLED, 20:9
RAM
12 GB RAM
Storage
128 GB / 256 GB
Battery
4970mAh
Looking to upgrade to a Pixel but not sure if you need all the bells and whistles of the more expensive models? You won’t be disappointed with the standard Pixel 10 model. Coming in striking colors, Gemini features, and seven years of updates, you can’t go wrong with this purchase.
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Brand
Google
SoC
Google Tensor G5
Display
6.3-inch Super Actua, 20:9
RAM
16 GB RAM
Storage
128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB with Zoned UFS / 1 TB with Zoned UFS
Battery
4870mAh
The Pixel 10 Pro offers an upgrade over the base model with the powerful Google Tensor G5 chip, more RAM, and more storage (if you need it).
