If you own a Google Pixel phone then you’ll want to grab it as soon as possible and head to the settings app because there’s a big new software update for you that will bring tons of new features to your phone today.
The update is the latest Feature Drop from Google, big software updates for Pixel phones that the company pushes out only four times per year. They introduce new software features to the latest Pixel models, but usually also bring new goodies to older phones – and this latest Drop is no exception.
As expected, several new features are only for the Pixel 8 Pro, the latest and most expensive Pixel ever. This includes a raft of new AI tools after Google has switched on what it calls Gemini Nano inside the Pixel 8 Pro, its “most efficient model built for on-device tasks” according to a blog post.
It means 8 Pro owners now get things like Summarise in Recorder (only working in English currently) that uses AI to summarise a voice recording in the Recorder app. So, if you have recorded an interview or a lecture, or even just your voice notes to yourself, AI can now summarise it all for you in bullet points.
Also exclusive to the Pixel 8 Pro are Smart Replies in Gboard, the Pixel’s keyboard. It only works in WhatsApp for now as part of a developer preview but will come to more apps in 2024, and uses AI to suggest clever quick-tap replies to what has been said thanks to conversational awareness.
That’s not all for Pixel 8 Pro, which also gets Video Boost, a mode that can adjust the colour, lighting, stabilisation, and graininess of video after it’s been shot to improve the quality. On top of that, the phone also gets Night Sight video, that Google says uses AI to reduce noise to low light videos and boost the detail and colour – this includes in timelapse videos, too.
Away from the priciest Pixel, all Pixel phones since the Pixel 6 have been treated to better Portrait light enhancements in Google Photos that can improve the look of portrait photos and selfies, plus the clever Photo Unblur feature that can unblur faces of people now also works on dogs and cats – perfect for when your furry friends just won’t sit still for your photographic masterpieces.
If you’ve got a Pixel 6 or newer (Pixel 6, 6 Pro, 6a, 7, 7 Pro, 7a, and the Pixel Fold) you can also now plug it into your laptop or desktop computer via USB and use the phone as a webcam, perfect if you don’t have one or the one on your PC is a bit grainy – the rear cameras of all Pixels will be a big improvement.
Proving that Google really does try and think of everything, there’s even a new Clean feature that lets you erase stains or unwanted marks from documents you’ve scanned in the camera app.
Also the Recorder app can now transcribe in an additional 28 new languages, massively improving the usefulness of Pixel phones. These are but a sample of the raft of improvements Google has pushed out to phones this week – you can check the full rundown of new features here. The Feature Drop is rolling out to recent Google Pixel phones over the coming days.
