Google News | En
The December Pixel Feature Drop based on Android 14 QPR1 has arrived. Pixels 5a and newer are getting the update (support has officially ended for the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G). In addition to the new features and fixes added in Android 14 QPR1, Google is also…
New features for the Pixel Watch in the December Pixel Feature Drop.
In addition to new features for phones, Google hasn't forgotten about the watch either:
• Call Screen is now on the Pixel Watch (English only in the US). With this feature, Google Assistant will be able to answer calls for you and display a summary of the conversation right on the watch. It has already been present for a long time on phones.
• Watch Unlock. You'll now be able to use your Pixel Watch to unlock your Pixel phone when it's nearby. The feature works through Google Play Services and is waiting for server-side activation.
• The first-gen Pixel Watch will now get Do Not Disturb and Bedtime Modes syncing, which was previously only available on the Pixel Watch 2. The first-gen watch also recently received new watch faces from the second-gen.
As of now, the features may not be available yet and it may take a couple of days or weeks for them to arrive.
Google News | En
In addition to new features for phones, Google hasn't forgotten about the watch either:
• Call Screen is now on the Pixel Watch (English only in the US). With this feature, Google Assistant will be able to answer calls for you and display a summary of the conversation right on the watch. It has already been present for a long time on phones.
• Watch Unlock. You'll now be able to use your Pixel Watch to unlock your Pixel phone when it's nearby. The feature works through Google Play Services and is waiting for server-side activation.
• The first-gen Pixel Watch will now get Do Not Disturb and Bedtime Modes syncing, which was previously only available on the Pixel Watch 2. The first-gen watch also recently received new watch faces from the second-gen.
As of now, the features may not be available yet and it may take a couple of days or weeks for them to arrive.
Google News | En
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Google News | En
The December Pixel Feature Drop based on Android 14 QPR1 has arrived. Pixels 5a and newer are getting the update (support has officially ended for the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G). In addition to the new features and fixes added in Android 14 QPR1, Google is also…
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What is the improved Portrait Light tool in Google Photos ?
The Portrait Light tool has long been available on Pixel devices and Google One subscriptions, and allows you to adjust the angle of incidence and intensity of light in photos with people.
With December's Pixel Future Drop Google split the tool into "Add Light" and the novelty "Balance Light" From my tests, I'd say it adjusts the intensity of shadows. (Available for Pixel 6 and newer)
The roll out is server-side. To check if the feature is available, open an image with people in Google Photos, click edit, go to the tools tab and click on "Portrait Light".
Google News | En
The Portrait Light tool has long been available on Pixel devices and Google One subscriptions, and allows you to adjust the angle of incidence and intensity of light in photos with people.
With December's Pixel Future Drop Google split the tool into "Add Light" and the novelty "Balance Light" From my tests, I'd say it adjusts the intensity of shadows. (Available for Pixel 6 and newer)
The roll out is server-side. To check if the feature is available, open an image with people in Google Photos, click edit, go to the tools tab and click on "Portrait Light".
Google News | En
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Google News | En
New features for the Pixel Watch in the December Pixel Feature Drop. In addition to new features for phones, Google hasn't forgotten about the watch either: • Call Screen is now on the Pixel Watch (English only in the US). With this feature, Google Assistant…
Where to find and how to use Watch Unlock ?
When the feature becomes available, you can find it in Settings / Security & Privacy / Device Unlock / Fingerprint & Face Control / Watch Unlock or in the Pixel Watch companion app / Watch preferences / Security / Watch Unlock.
Once the feature is set up, it will work as follows:
• A simple swipe up or tap on a notification on the lock screen will instantly unlock the device, followed by an "Unlocked by your watch" notification at the top.
• If you tap on an empty space on the lock screen, an open lock icon will appear instead of your fingerprint, and an "Unlocked by your watch" text will appear at the bottom between shortcuts.
• Once unlocked, a corresponding "Unlocked by this watch" notification will appear on the watch. From the same notification the phone can be locked with the corresponding button.
• This feature depends on the distance between the watch and the phone. If it is more than ~1 meter, the phone will not be able to unlock and you will be asked to 'move watch closer'.
Roll out is server-side, and the feature itself works via Google Play Services.
Google News | En
When the feature becomes available, you can find it in Settings / Security & Privacy / Device Unlock / Fingerprint & Face Control / Watch Unlock or in the Pixel Watch companion app / Watch preferences / Security / Watch Unlock.
Once the feature is set up, it will work as follows:
• A simple swipe up or tap on a notification on the lock screen will instantly unlock the device, followed by an "Unlocked by your watch" notification at the top.
• If you tap on an empty space on the lock screen, an open lock icon will appear instead of your fingerprint, and an "Unlocked by your watch" text will appear at the bottom between shortcuts.
• Once unlocked, a corresponding "Unlocked by this watch" notification will appear on the watch. From the same notification the phone can be locked with the corresponding button.
• This feature depends on the distance between the watch and the phone. If it is more than ~1 meter, the phone will not be able to unlock and you will be asked to 'move watch closer'.
Roll out is server-side, and the feature itself works via Google Play Services.
Google News | En
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Where to find and how the Pixel Camera's "Video Boost" feature works in the Pixel 8 Pro.
When the feature becomes available, you can find it in the quick settings of video mode. When recording, the camera creates two files, VB-01 COVER and VB-02 MAIN. The former is immediately available for preview, while the latter is sent to Google's servers for enhancement (you have to upload it to the Google Photos cloud).
After a while, when the video is processed, you will receive a notification from Google Photos that Video boost is complete and it will be available for viewing. After that, the raw VB-02 MAIN file will be automatically deleted and an boosted video named VB-03 MAIN will be automatically downloaded to your phone.
• "Raw" video file (VB-02 MAIN) can take up quite a lot of space. For example, an 11-second video takes up 350 MB, while VB-01 COVER takes up only 30 MB. A processed (enhanced) VB-03 MAIN video will weigh about the same as VB-01 COVER.
• The maximum length of a video file for Video boost is 10 minutes.
• In Google Photos preview you will be able to switch between normal and boosted videos, the latter will be marked with a special icon.
Important: This feature is being rolled out gradually. It may not be available immediately.
More details on the 🔗 Google Support page.
Google News | En
When the feature becomes available, you can find it in the quick settings of video mode. When recording, the camera creates two files, VB-01 COVER and VB-02 MAIN. The former is immediately available for preview, while the latter is sent to Google's servers for enhancement (you have to upload it to the Google Photos cloud).
After a while, when the video is processed, you will receive a notification from Google Photos that Video boost is complete and it will be available for viewing. After that, the raw VB-02 MAIN file will be automatically deleted and an boosted video named VB-03 MAIN will be automatically downloaded to your phone.
• "Raw" video file (VB-02 MAIN) can take up quite a lot of space. For example, an 11-second video takes up 350 MB, while VB-01 COVER takes up only 30 MB. A processed (enhanced) VB-03 MAIN video will weigh about the same as VB-01 COVER.
• The maximum length of a video file for Video boost is 10 minutes.
• In Google Photos preview you will be able to switch between normal and boosted videos, the latter will be marked with a special icon.
Important: This feature is being rolled out gradually. It may not be available immediately.
More details on the 🔗 Google Support page.
Google News | En
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Google News | En
Android 14 QPR2 (March) Beta 1.1 bugfix is out. List of fixes: • Fixed an issue that sometimes caused some apps to be removed after a system update was installed and then prevented those apps from being installed again. In other cases, affected apps couldn't…
Android 14 QPR2 (March) Beta 2 is out!
List of fixes:
• Fixed an issue where battery usage information that was reported in system settings was sometimes incorrect.
• Fixed an issue where the fingerprint icon on the lock screen would sometimes display before other information had loaded in always-on display mode.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the biometric prompt to crash, causing it to be dismissed before a user could interact with it.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the Internet Quick Settings tile to indicate that there was no Wi-Fi connection, even when the device was connected to a Wi-Fi network.
Known issues:
• Sometimes when a user unlocks the device using their fingerprint, there is no haptic feedback.
• For Pixel Fold devices, sometimes after a user unlocks the device while it's folded, the inner display doesn't turn on after unfolding the device.
• The Assistant At a Glance widget sometimes displays weather information for the wrong location.
Build number:AP11.231020.016 → AP11.231117.006
Security Patch: December 2023
🔗 Android Beta
• OTA images
• Factory Images
Google News | En
List of fixes:
• Fixed an issue where battery usage information that was reported in system settings was sometimes incorrect.
• Fixed an issue where the fingerprint icon on the lock screen would sometimes display before other information had loaded in always-on display mode.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the biometric prompt to crash, causing it to be dismissed before a user could interact with it.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the Internet Quick Settings tile to indicate that there was no Wi-Fi connection, even when the device was connected to a Wi-Fi network.
Known issues:
• Sometimes when a user unlocks the device using their fingerprint, there is no haptic feedback.
• For Pixel Fold devices, sometimes after a user unlocks the device while it's folded, the inner display doesn't turn on after unfolding the device.
• The Assistant At a Glance widget sometimes displays weather information for the wrong location.
Build number:
Security Patch: December 2023
🔗 Android Beta
• OTA images
• Factory Images
Google News | En
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Google News | En
Android 14 QPR2 (March) Beta 2 is out! List of fixes: • Fixed an issue where battery usage information that was reported in system settings was sometimes incorrect. • Fixed an issue where the fingerprint icon on the lock screen would sometimes display before…
Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2 Settings app finally uses the true Material 3 Switches from the Material Library
Since the release of Android 12, Google has been using a custom implementation of switches in the settings app and across the system. And even when the open source Material Design 3 library introduced the Switch component, Google was slow to implement it in Android settings.
But now with the second beta of Android 14 QPR2, Google has finally switched to the component from the Material Design open library.
Google News | En
Since the release of Android 12, Google has been using a custom implementation of switches in the settings app and across the system. And even when the open source Material Design 3 library introduced the Switch component, Google was slow to implement it in Android settings.
But now with the second beta of Android 14 QPR2, Google has finally switched to the component from the Material Design open library.
Google News | En
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Google News | En
Android 14 QPR2 (March) Beta 2 is out! List of fixes: • Fixed an issue where battery usage information that was reported in system settings was sometimes incorrect. • Fixed an issue where the fingerprint icon on the lock screen would sometimes display before…
Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2: You can now share your Wi-Fi right from the Internet tile.
In the new build, when you click on the internet tile, a new 'Share Wi-Fi' button will appear in the bottom left corner. When you click on it, you will be asked for biometric authentication, after which you will be taken to a page with a QR code and info about the network you are currently connected to.
Google News | En
In the new build, when you click on the internet tile, a new 'Share Wi-Fi' button will appear in the bottom left corner. When you click on it, you will be asked for biometric authentication, after which you will be taken to a page with a QR code and info about the network you are currently connected to.
Google News | En
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Google News | En
Android 14 QPR2 (March) Beta 2 is out! List of fixes: • Fixed an issue where battery usage information that was reported in system settings was sometimes incorrect. • Fixed an issue where the fingerprint icon on the lock screen would sometimes display before…
Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2: Pixel Launcher app menu names are now written on two lines.
For quite a while, long app names were shortened with a triplet to fit on one line. Now Pixel Launcher will try to fit the names in the app list on two lines. This does not apply to the home screen and search results.
(This is actually a very old experimental ENABLE_TWOLINE_ALLAPPS flag that Google decided to activate in this build).
Google News | En
For quite a while, long app names were shortened with a triplet to fit on one line. Now Pixel Launcher will try to fit the names in the app list on two lines. This does not apply to the home screen and search results.
(This is actually a very old experimental ENABLE_TWOLINE_ALLAPPS flag that Google decided to activate in this build).
Google News | En
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Google News | En
Android 14 QPR2 (March) Beta 2 is out! List of fixes: • Fixed an issue where battery usage information that was reported in system settings was sometimes incorrect. • Fixed an issue where the fingerprint icon on the lock screen would sometimes display before…
Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2: New 'Widevine Settings' option for developers.
Under Settings / System / Developer options in the Multimedia section there is a new item "Widevine Settings". Clicking on it opens a page with one single *inactive* switch "Force L3 Fallback".
*Widevine DRM is Google's content protection system for premium media.
Google News | En
Under Settings / System / Developer options in the Multimedia section there is a new item "Widevine Settings". Clicking on it opens a page with one single *inactive* switch "Force L3 Fallback".
*Widevine DRM is Google's content protection system for premium media.
Google News | En
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Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2: Reorganized "App Battery usage" settings.
The "Unrestricted", "Optimized" and "Restricted" options will now be replaced by a single "Allow background usage" toggle, but also, tapping on the item itself will take you to a submenu where you can choose between "Optimized" and "Unrestricted" options.
The icon for the "Force Stop" button has also been updated.
🔗 via Mishaal Rahman
Google News | En
The "Unrestricted", "Optimized" and "Restricted" options will now be replaced by a single "Allow background usage" toggle, but also, tapping on the item itself will take you to a submenu where you can choose between "Optimized" and "Unrestricted" options.
The icon for the "Force Stop" button has also been updated.
🔗 via Mishaal Rahman
Google News | En
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Google News | En
Android 14 QPR2 (March) Beta 2 is out! List of fixes: • Fixed an issue where battery usage information that was reported in system settings was sometimes incorrect. • Fixed an issue where the fingerprint icon on the lock screen would sometimes display before…
Google has intentionally changed the behavior of the microphone button in the Pixel Launcher search bar in Android 14 QPR2.
Ever since the first beta of Android 14 QPR2, users have noticed that pressing the microphone button on the Pixel Launcher's search bar opens Google's voice search instead of the Google Assistant like they're used to. Many thought it was a bug, but it's more likely an intentional decision.
In the latest beta version of the Google app, a bottom sheet has been added stating that "access to Google Assistant has moved", and from the description it is clear that this change in Android 14 QPR2 is done intentionally.
But other ways of invoking the assistant such as gestures and Voice Match remained untouched.
Google News | En
Ever since the first beta of Android 14 QPR2, users have noticed that pressing the microphone button on the Pixel Launcher's search bar opens Google's voice search instead of the Google Assistant like they're used to. Many thought it was a bug, but it's more likely an intentional decision.
In the latest beta version of the Google app, a bottom sheet has been added stating that "access to Google Assistant has moved", and from the description it is clear that this change in Android 14 QPR2 is done intentionally.
But other ways of invoking the assistant such as gestures and Voice Match remained untouched.
Google News | En
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Google News | En
Android 14 QPR2 (March) Beta 2 is out! List of fixes: • Fixed an issue where battery usage information that was reported in system settings was sometimes incorrect. • Fixed an issue where the fingerprint icon on the lock screen would sometimes display before…
Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2: Google is working on optimizing the Quick Settings layout for phones in landscape mode.
The quick settings will now be presented as a two-pane layout split into quick settings tiles on the left and the notification panel on the right. In addition, the brightness slider in this layout is now always available. And to access the player, you'll have to swipe up through the quick settings tiles.
Overall, this layout almost replicates the design on Google's tablets/foldable devices.
This change in Android 14 QPR2 is hidden behind a flag, so either we will see it already in the next beta or only in Android 15.
Source: Mishaal Rahman on Android Police
Google News | En
The quick settings will now be presented as a two-pane layout split into quick settings tiles on the left and the notification panel on the right. In addition, the brightness slider in this layout is now always available. And to access the player, you'll have to swipe up through the quick settings tiles.
Overall, this layout almost replicates the design on Google's tablets/foldable devices.
This change in Android 14 QPR2 is hidden behind a flag, so either we will see it already in the next beta or only in Android 15.
Source: Mishaal Rahman on Android Police
Google News | En
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Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2: Google is going to bring back the Bluetooth tile quick settings dialog.
This change will add an arrow icon (">") to the Bluetooth quick settings tile . Tapping this icon will open a pop-up dialog box that allows you to turn Bluetooth on/off, switch between recently paired Bluetooth devices, open the settings page for a specific paired Bluetooth device, or open the settings page for pairing a new Bluetooth device.
Once upon a time, stock Android already had such a feature until Google cut it out in Android 9.0. So 'everything new is the well forgotten old'.
This change is hidden behind a flag, and we will either see it in the final build of Android 14 QPR2 or in Android 15.
Source: Mishaal Rahman on Android Police
Google News | En
This change will add an arrow icon (">") to the Bluetooth quick settings tile . Tapping this icon will open a pop-up dialog box that allows you to turn Bluetooth on/off, switch between recently paired Bluetooth devices, open the settings page for a specific paired Bluetooth device, or open the settings page for pairing a new Bluetooth device.
Once upon a time, stock Android already had such a feature until Google cut it out in Android 9.0. So 'everything new is the well forgotten old'.
This change is hidden behind a flag, and we will either see it in the final build of Android 14 QPR2 or in Android 15.
Source: Mishaal Rahman on Android Police
Google News | En
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Fixing wallpaper history bug in Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2.
Many of you have encountered a bug where the recent wallpaper history is missing in the context menu when you hold down on the homescreen (empty space) or in the Wallpaper & Style app (colored tiles).
There is a way out: Create the walls history again. Change a few wallpapers and then the history will be restored.
Google News | En
Many of you have encountered a bug where the recent wallpaper history is missing in the context menu when you hold down on the homescreen (empty space) or in the Wallpaper & Style app (colored tiles).
There is a way out: Create the walls history again. Change a few wallpapers and then the history will be restored.
Google News | En
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