June Feature Drop: New features and upgrades for the Pixel portfolio

Jun 11, 2024

[[read-time]] min read

Gemini comes to more Pixel phones, Pixel Watches get Car Crash Detection and upgrades to Wear OS.

Mikaela Kraft

Product Marketing Manager, Pixel

Our latest Feature Drop is here, and it’s packed with incredible new capabilities for your device, including Gemini Nano coming to Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a as a developer option, and Car Crash Detection to Pixel Watch 2, plus so much more. These features begin rolling out to devices today and will continue over the next few weeks.

For Pixel Phones

Gemini Nano expands to Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a

Gemini Nano is Google’s most efficient AI model built for on-device tasks,¹ and starting today, you can use Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a to access Gemini Nano as a developer option. You can enable developer options in your Pixel’s settings.

Take your transcripts to the next level

Gemini powers Summarize in Recorder to run on-device on Pixel 8 and 8a – and the Recorder app²now delivers more detailed, downloadable summaries³to Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8a. It’s able to detect and include the names of speakers so conversational transcripts are improved. And with the ability to export transcripts into text files or Google Docs,⁴keeping track of things like interviews and class lectures is made easy.

Take your entertainment to the big screen

Pixel 8a, Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro can now display content on a larger screen,⁵like your computer monitor, when you plug it in via USB-C, giving you more space to enjoy your favorite movies, shows and slides.⁶

Find your phone, even when the battery dies

Find My Device is getting a helpful upgrade that enables you to locate your phone even when it’s off or the battery is dead,⁷all while keeping your location data encrypted and private from Google.

Put your best faces forward

The Pixel camera can now automatically identify the best moment from your photo in HDR+ with just a single shutter press, so it’s easier to snap a photo where your face is in focus and smiling.⁸

Quickly look up a mystery phone number

Don’t recognize a phone number? With just a few taps, you can now do a reverse phone number search directly from your call log.⁹

Reverse phone number lookup on Pixel 8 Pro

Save and access your everyday essentials from Google Wallet

Google Wallet recently expanded to India, so even more people can securely store and access everyday items, like boarding passes, loyalty cards, event tickets, public transport tickets, gift cards, and more.

Additional phone improvements

Pixel’s camera now lets you manually pick which camera lens you want to use while taking photos, giving you more control over capturing the perfect shot.¹⁰

For Pixel Watches

Extra peace of mind when you’re on the go

In time for National Safety Month, Car Crash Detection¹¹is launching as a brand new safety feature on Pixel Watch 2 that gives you more ways to stay safe and get help when you might need it most, even when you don’t have your Pixel phone. If you’re in a severe car accident, your watch can now check in to make sure you’re okay. If you need help or don’t respond, it will automatically dial emergency services. Car Crash Detection integrates with Emergency Sharing on your watch,¹² so your emergency contacts will be notified and get your real-time location if you’ve been in an accident. We’ve also improved Fall Detection to better detect falls from bicycles.¹³

Car crash detection alert on Pixel Watch 2

Make life easier with improved app experiences

Now you have more ways to pay from your Pixel Watch when you’re out and about without taking your physical wallet out. You can now link your PayPal account to Google Wallet¹⁴on your watch for ease the next time you leave your wallet at home or your hands are full.

Your Google Home app is getting a revamp and you can now access your smart home devices faster and easier directly from your watch:¹⁵ ¹⁶

Access your Google Home Favorites with just a swipe on your watch. Tap the device icon to open the Home app and adjust the temperature, dim the lights, and more.
You can now access a smart home device from your watch face on Wear OS. Tap the device shortcut and make adjustments, right on your wrist.
The Google Home app on Wear OS gives you more ways to control your smart home devices. Adjust the rotation of your blinds or fan speed, all from your watch.

For Pixel Tablet

See who’s there

Is someone ringing your doorbell? Your Pixel Tablet will now have richer doorbell notifications¹⁷when docked in hub mode, giving you a snapshot of who is at your front door. You can talk to them with two-way talk, or send a Quick Response.

Smart home favorites

The new Google Home Favorites widget¹⁸gives you even quicker access to your compatible smart home devices. You’ll get quick, customizable smart home controls on your phone and tablet home screen, so you can access your thermostat or turn on your lights with just a quick tap.

Google Home Favorites widget on Pixel 8 Pro

All of these features team up to make your Pixel devices even better. Whether you’re at home or traveling, your Pixel devices are must-haves for this summer.

POSTED IN:

Available only on Pixel 8 Pro and in Developer options on Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a.

Compared to previous version of the Recorder app.

Available only on Pixel 8 Pro and in Developer options on Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a in English.

Speaker labels available only on Pixel 6 and newer phones in US English.

Requires connection using USB-C cable and compatible display (both sold separately). Available only on Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel 8a. USB-C® is a trademark of USB Implementers Forum.

Subscriptions may be required for certain content.

App can locate device without power for at least 23 hours. Find My Device network requires location services and Bluetooth to be turned on. Requires cell service or internet connection. Available on Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, or Pixel 8a and in certain countries for age-eligible users.

Available on Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 6 and newer phones.

Available on Pixel Fold, Pixel 6 and newer phones.

Available on Pixel Fold, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel 8 Pro.

Car Crash Detection is not available in all languages or countries. For country and language availability and more information, see support.google.com/googlepixelwatch?p=ccd. Car Crash Detection may not detect all crashes. High-impact activities could also trigger Car Crash Detection. This feature is dependent upon network connectivity and other factors and may not be reliable for emergency communications or available in all areas.

Data rates may apply. Emergency Sharing requires location enabled and 4G LTE service or an internet connection. Emergency Sharing is dependent upon network connectivity and other factors and may not be reliable for emergency communications or available in all countries or languages. See g.co/pixelwatch/personalsafety for more details.

Available on Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2. Fall Detection is not available in all countries and depends on network connectivity and other factors. Your watch may not be reliable for emergency communications. Fall Detection may not detect all falls. To call emergency services on a Google Pixel Watch without 4G LTE, your paired phone must be nearby. Users must grant location permission for Fall Detection to share location externally. Data rates may apply. See g.co/pixelwatch/personalsafety for more details.

Requires PayPal account. Available only in the US and Germany.

Requires a smartwatch that runs Wear OS 3 or newer, a Google Account, the latest version of the Google Home app on both your watch and phone, and working internet and Wi-Fi.

Requires compatible smart devices.

Available in Public Preview. Requires Nest Doorbell (wired, 1st and 2nd gen) or Nest Doorbell (battery). Pixel Tablet must be locked and docked on the charging speaker dock in order to see a full screen live view.

Available globally on phones and tablets running Android 12+ in the Google Home Public Preview. Some features, including mobile and browser notifications, remote control, video streaming and video recording, require working internet and Wi-Fi.