Google’s AI Edge Gallery can save and run AI models offline

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Google quietly launched a new app called Google AI Edge Gallery to let people run AI models directly on their phones, with no internet connection needed. The app is currently available for Android and will soon come to iPhones as well.

The idea behind the app is to make it easy for users to explore and use different AI tools that are openly available on a platform called Hugging Face. 

These AI tools, also called models, can do a variety of tasks like answering questions, generating images, writing and editing code, summarizing text, and more. 

Instead of relying on cloud servers, the app runs these models locally using the phone’s own processor. That’s useful for people who want to protect their privacy or use AI features even when they’re offline.

The app is still in its early stages, Google calls it an experimental Alpha release, and it has to be downloaded manually from GitHub by following some setup steps. 

Once installed, users can explore the app’s simple home screen, which features shortcuts to different AI activities such as AI Chat or Ask Image. 

Tapping on one of these options brings up a list of AI models suitable for that task, for example, Google’s own model called Gemma 3n.

There’s also a feature called Prompt Lab that lets users perform quick one-step tasks like summarizing a paragraph or rewriting it with a different tone. 

The app includes templates and settings to help fine-tune how the models respond.

However, Google points out that performance may vary. Newer phones with better hardware will run these AI models more smoothly, and smaller models will usually be faster than larger ones.

Google is encouraging developers and tech enthusiasts to try out the app and share their feedback. 

It’s released under the Apache 2.0 license, which means it’s free to use for both personal and commercial projects without major restrictions.

What do you think about this new app from Google? Will you use it for offine AI models? Tell us below in the comments, or via our Twitter or Facebook.