The November Pixel Drop has arrived, introducing numerous new capabilities to Pixel smartphones.
Google has begun rolling out its next Pixel Drop, which is the term given to major Pixel smartphone software updates containing new features.
They usually arrive every few months, but as we reported at the end of October, the current one arrived a month early.
Here are the primary additions to the November Pixel Drop. Google’s support page provides a more in-depth overview.
Notification summaries
Google has put its sophisticated AI to use by providing bite-sized descriptions of incoming notifications directly in the notification shade. This means you may quickly summarize a lengthy message or chat without even opening the app.
Apple has done something similar in recent iOS releases, though it isn’t often that useful. Here’s hoping Google’s provision provides more meaningful information.
From December, Google says that you’ll be able to silence lower-priority notifications.
Personalised photo edits
Google has added the option to repair group photographs with a sentence, as part of its ongoing development of eerily realistic image editing capabilities.
Tap “Help me edit” and tell Photos to “Remove Riley’s sunglasses, open my eyes, make Engel smile, and open her eyes” (other friend names are available). Photos will now pull image information from other photos in your gallery to make the necessary edits – as long as your contacts are properly labeled in Face Groups.
Again, this is now only available in the United States (sigh), and you must be at least 18 years old and have location estimations enabled.
Scam protection in messages
Google has updated its Scam Detection game app with the new Pixel Drop, which provides scam alerts across a variety of popular messaging services.
When a possibly fraudulent communication arrives, Google will alert you with a “Likely scam” notification.
Unfortunately, this feature is currently limited to the United States and will only operate on Pixel 6 phones and later.
Wicked theme packs
This inclusion was widely covered in leaks leading up to the November Pixel Drop, but Google is now providing themed customisation kits to its Pixel phones. These include personalized backgrounds, icons, GIFs, and even sounds.
To get started, it’s offered a Wicked: For Good theme pack to go with the new musical film. There are three styles to pick from: For Good, Glinda, and Elphaba.
VIP priorities
As expected, Google is giving its half-baked VIP contacts feature more attention. Notifications from your chosen VIPs will now be prioritized, and there is also a crisis badge in the Contacts widget to keep you informed of crucial notifications.
Photo remixes
Google has added a Remix feature to Google Messages, allowing you to make live adjustments within the message thread. If the other participant is also using Google Messages, you can even send remixes back and forth between you.
And, sure, the results will appear for whoever is in the conversation with you, regardless of whatever phone they are using.
Save power in Google Maps
This one is great. While traveling in Google Maps, press the power button to switch to a streamlined layout that displays just important information, such as your upcoming turn. It means you’ll still be able to navigate even when your phone is about to die.
Scam Detection and Call Notes expands
We’ve already expressed our dissatisfaction with some of these new features’ limited availability in the United States, but Google is expanding access to some of its prior enhancements.
Scam detection for voice calls is now available to Google Pixel 9 (and later) users in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Australia, and Canada.
Call Notes, which allows users to transcribe and summarise phone calls, is being launched in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Japan.
Magic Cue gets a boost
Remember Magic Cue? It’s the Google Pixel 10 feature that supposedly provides one-tap cross-app suggestions, but many people (including myself) have never been able to get it to operate.
Google claims it would now provide “more timely suggestions,” which I hope means “will actually work for most people.” We will see.
