The June launch of Pixel brings 12 new features to your devices

The best part of every quarter for Pixel owners is when Google finalizes the next big quarterly Android update, because it also means we’ll get a Pixel Feature Drop with new toys to play with. The June Pixel feature update arrives today and Google has almost a dozen pieces of information, although several of them were announced earlier.

To dive into the details, let’s first take a look at everything coming to Pixel phones, tablets, and foldable devices, from the Pixel 6 to the Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet.

• Gemini Nano expands to Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a for some on-device AI processing. Previously, Google had said that the Nano wouldn’t be coming to the Pixel 8 due to hardware limitations, then a few days later it would change its mind and suggest that users could try it out as a developer option with the June feature launch as a sort of Developer Preview. Because the Pixel 8a is so similar to the Pixel 8, it too is participating in this preview. For starters, Google previously announced that Gemini Nano on these devices will use Summarize in Recorder and Magic Compose in Messages.
• The summary feature in the Recorder can now detect and include speaker names and export transcripts to text files or Google Docs. This is available on the Pixel 8 Pro, as well as a new developer option for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a.

• Display Port support is available on Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel 8aallowing users to connect their phones to a secondary display using a USB-C cable. This can be useful for consuming content such as videos, programs and slides.
• Reverse phone number lookup goes to Pixel 6, all the way to Pixel 8 and Pixel Fold. This was previously spotted during testing in April, but the idea seems amazing. When an unknown number appears in your call log, you can click on it several times to perform a search, which can use, for example, Google Search to find the number and provide additional information.

• Find my device, Google’s new device location network, actually finds devices like the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel 8a, even if they’re turned off. I feel like this was noticed a few weeks ago, but Google apparently didn’t make an official announcement until today.
• HDR+ on most Pixel devices (from Pixel 6 to Pixel tablet, Fold and Series 8) can now “automatically identify the best moment in an HDR+ photo with a single shutter press, ensuring users get great photos every time.” Tidy.
• Manual lens selection on Pixel cameras is now available on the Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel Fold, according to Google, which says you have the ability to manually tap on the specific camera you want to use at any time. While I haven’t tested this yet, it should be only slightly different than simply selecting zoom levels like you’ve been doing for years. You can see what this looks like in the image above (right).
• The Google Home Favorites widget has been released, but you know that. This new widget was part of an Android feature update in late May. This brand new widget will bring fast, customizable and smart home control to the home screens of users’ phones and tablets.
• Your Pixel tablet receives doorbell notifications when docked in hub mode. Now when someone rings your doorbell, you’ll get a snapshot of who’s at the door. It was announced again about a week ago.

Okay, that’s all about phones and tablets and foldable devices, so now we’ll take a look at what’s new in the June Pixel feature update for the Pixel Watch.

• Car crash and bike fall detection features are now available on the Pixel Watch 2. If you’re in a car accident, Watch 2 will ask if you’re OK and be able to call emergency services or contacts. Similarly, fall detection in the event of a fall from a bicycle has been improved on both the Pixel Watch and Watch 2.
• PayPal signed in to Google Wallet on your Pixel Watchbut this isn’t really a Pixel-specific issue, as Google announced it for Wear OS in late April.
• Google Home is also more powerful on the Pixel Watch, with a new Wear OS tile, watch face complications, and more controls like smart fans and humidifiers. Again, these are Wear OS-level items that were part of a broader rollback of Android features back in May.

So there you have it! That’s everything new in the June Pixel Feature Drop update. As always with these updates, Google releases new features in waves, so you may not see everything at once.

//Google