Now that Pixel Studio is dead, here are 5 other apps you should use instead

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Google announced Pixel Studio in 2024 alongside the launch of the Pixel 9 series. The app was designed to be a standalone, on-device generative AI powerhouse for creating fun stickers and editing images right on your phone.

However, a lot has changed in two years, and, unfortunately, the writing is officially on the wall for the ambitious project. With the rollout of the latest v2.3 update this past Friday, Google has abruptly discontinued Pixel Studio and is now redirecting users to other parts of its ecosystem.

I, for one, spent countless hours generating custom wallpapers and tweaking quick edits with Pixel Studio. And while Pixel Studio was something I enjoyed a lot, I’ve also tested out a wide range of apps that leverage generative AI for image generation. With Pixel Studio going the way of the dodo, here are the five best alternatives you should be using right now.

What really makes Gemini and Nano Banana the default successor is the deep ecosystem integration. You can easily pull up the assistant overlay while browsing the web or chatting with friends to generate a quick image response on the fly. You can also pull up Gemini on your computer, your smartphone, or a tablet and get the same experience. The Nano Banana 2 imaging pipeline handles natural language phrasing much better than its predecessors, and, predictably, it is a night-and-day difference compared to Pixel Studio.

You can ask it for a photorealistic image of a cat wearing an astronaut helmet, and it’ll understand the specific nuances of lighting and texture without requiring complex prompt engineering. The results feel remarkably organic and highly detailed every time, and for those of us who primarily used Pixel Studio for quick sticker creation, Gemini offers a nearly identical, friction-free workflow. That said, you won’t find many of the controls built into Pixel Studio. So, if you want to remove a background or isolate a subject, you’ll have to use a text- or voice-based prompt, and Gemini will handle that for you.

Since the Gemini app is built into pretty much every Android phone, if you want the least disruptive way to get image generation, sticking with Google’s default assistant is an absolute no-brainer.

OpenAI continues to dominate the artificial intelligence space, and the official ChatGPT app remains an absolute powerhouse for mobile creators. It also integrates the GPT Image 2 model, which offers excellent image-generation capabilities. Similar to Gemini, ChatGPT relies entirely on a conversational interface. There are no toggles for stylistic choices, unlike the Pixel Studio app.