Andy Walker / Android Authority
I’m all for boosting the efficiency of my Android phone, which means uninstalling or disabling apps and services I don’t need. With the advent of AI services, it’s more important than ever to trim the fat on my device.
If you’ve scrolled through your system apps list recently, you may have noticed an app called AICore running in the background. It’s known for consuming a lot of RAM, draining the battery, and occasionally sending annoying notifications. This got me thinking: would it be so bad to disable AICore, even if it’s a system process?
Below, I detail what you need to know about disabling AICore, including what it did to my phone, and whether you should consider it too.
Do you use AI features on your phone? 122 votes Yes, I use AI features every day as often as possible. 12 % Yes, but only specialized features to perform specific tasks (image editing, etc.) 29 % I try to avoid AI features, but I still do so once in a while. 27 % No, I actively avoid AI features. 24 % I'm not sure if the features I use are AI features. 8 % It's complicated (explain in the comments). 0 %
Dear AICore: Who are you, and what do you do?
Andy Walker / Android Authority
AICore can be found on most modern Android devices, including newer Google Pixel devices and my Galaxy S24 FE running Android 16.
Per Google’s description, AICore specifically helps update and maintain on-device AI models — e.g., Gemini Nano — that run locally and allows apps that require these features to access them. This means the service requires no data connection or cloud communication to process any requests or queries — everything is done on the phone itself.
Google’s guidance on Nano specifically states: For on-device use-cases, you can take advantage of Google’s Gemini Nano foundation model. Gemini Nano runs in Android’s AICore system service, which leverages device hardware to enable low inference latency and keeps the model up-to-date. Considering just how integral AI is to the modern Android experience, AICore seems like an app you’d rather keep running in the background. After all, it enables the following smarts: Summarizing text, like a web page or news article.
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