Google is working on a new feature called “Audio Memory” for Pixel phones that will “keep track of what you hear throughout your day.”

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

The latest version (C4) of Android System Intelligence for the Pixel 10 contains strings that describe “Audio Memory,” which is codenamed “blueflax” — a type of wildflower.

Google explains how enabling will let you “keep track of what you hear throughout your day, from the music around you to your important conversations.”

That introductory line is the only reference to this new ability that tracks your conversations. It will presumably work like the dedicated audio pins or AI notetakers that ambiently record conversations happening around your phone, transcribe them, and then generate notes. 

(A more limited possibility for Audio Memory is that it will just capture audio during phone calls you have in apps, like the dialer.)

Audio Memory appears to just be the background service that listens for audio, while other apps (like Now Playing) and a possible new dedicated Pixel app provide the end-user experience. Bluefax will leverage Private Compute Core to work on-device.

Meanwhile, Audio Memory will also incorporate the existing Now Playing capability (Music recognition), while adding a new “Music on your device” feature:

• Music recognition: “Find out what’s playing around you”
• Music on your device: “Info about songs you play or hear in other apps displays in your music history”

We’ve enabled the following onboarding interface this morning. There will presumably be another bullet point on the first screen for the conversation capabilities.

Like before, Music recognition “automatically identifies music using a song database on your device.”

If a song isn’t recognized, a short digital fingerprint may be sent to Google to securely search the cloud. Background conversations and audio are never sent to Google.

Additionally, settings will let you “control which apps Audio Memory can use to identify music.”