One of the coolest things about the Pixel is that Google puts together ‘feature drops’ every now and again, to support users with cool new tricks and services. Our colleagues in the U.S. already wrote about the coolest feature of the January Pixel drop – the ability to check if you have a fever with the integrated thermometer – but on the sidelines are some pretty neat features that users will soon be able to take advantage of.
To kick things off, though, the Google Pixel 8 range is now available in a gorgeous Mint Green. It’s available now from Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, JB Hi-Fi, and other retailers at no additional cost. It might seem a little odd to just release a new colour, but Apple tends to do it with the iPhone in the first half of the year as well. Last year, Apple re-released the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus in a pretty yellow finish, so why can’t Google do the same?
Google also reconfirmed that Circle to Search, an AI-powered Google Lens upgrade that allows users to search for anything on their screen by circling it, is also coming to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro on January 31. This feature first debuted on the Samsung Galaxy S24 range, revealed earlier this month, but now Google is bringing it to its own devices, which makes sense.
“with multisearch’s latest AI-powered upgrades, you can ask a more complex question about an image you’re searching so it’s easier to learn more about the world around you, like whether a certain plant needs fertiliser,” Google added.
‘Magic Compose’, an AI feature that gives you message drafts in different tones and styles is also coming to all Pixel devices released after the Pixel 6. The AI for this is processes on-device, which the company credits to ‘Gemini Nano’ – “Google’s most efficient model built for on-device tasks.”
Personalised, photo-based ‘photomojis’ are also coming. These are kinda cute, actually. Within Google Messages, you can now react to other people’s messages with your own photos, cropped and made transparent to make them look naturally like an emoji. Contacts you share your photomojis with will also be able to use them.
Oh, and as announced at the Samsung Galaxy S24 reveal, Samsung’s ‘Quickshare’ feature is now being standardised on Android as the quick content-sharing solution between devices. This now effectively makes Quickshare the Android-wide equivalent to Apple’s AirDrop, although Android phone makers will still be able to put their own versions on device. As far as Pixel users should be concerned though, Quick Share effectively just takes the place of Nearby Share. It’ll also be compatible with Windows going forward.
To wrap things up, Audio Switch is being added to Pixel Watch, so Google Buds users can now quickly switch their headphones between, for example, their phone, tablet, and watch effortlessly (provided the device is a Pixel 5a or newer).
Pixel Drops rule, and this January drop is filled with genuinely useful updates. It’s good that there’s now an Android-wide answer to AirDrop, and Circle to Search ended up being one of our favourite features of the Galaxy S24 Ultra – so it’s great that more people will be able to use it.
Image: Google
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