Pixel 10 base reserves RAM for AI, leaving about 9GB for apps

Google's base Pixel 10 reserves roughly one quarter of its advertised memory for on device artificial intelligence, leaving buyers with about 8.5 to 9 gigabytes of RAM for everyday apps, reviewers found after testing the new handset. The phone ships with 12 gigabytes listed on the spec sheet, but about 3.4 to 3.5 gigabytes are locked to run the phone's AI framework and a background AICore service tied to the Tensor G5 chipset, according to multiple reports.

Google's stated rationale is performance. Keeping a small AI model resident in memory eliminates loading delays and helps deliver instant features such as live voice translation, call summaries and on device photo editing. The reserved memory holds a Nano model of the company's Gemini system and supporting services so those capabilities are ready the moment a user invokes them, rather than having to spin up large models each time.

The approach marks a shift from the Pixel 9 lineup. Last year, the base Pixel 9 did not carve out RAM for AI, while the higher end Pixel 9 Pro set aside about 2.6 gigabytes but came with 16 gigabytes total. With the Pixel 10, that AI reservation is now applied to the base model as well, meaning...