Google Pixel replace provides battery-saving maps mode, AI photograph remixing, and smarter notifications

Google introduced its November software program replace for Pixel telephones, known as Pixel Drop — a quarterly characteristic launch that brings new capabilities to current gadgets — with options together with notification summaries, a power-saving mode for the Maps app, prompt-based edits for Images, and Gemini Nano-powered photograph edits in Messages.

Apple launched notification summaries with its Apple Intelligence suite of options final yr. Now, Google is catching up with its personal notification summaries for longer chats and conversations on Pixel 9 and later gadgets. The corporate stated that in December, it can roll out a characteristic that might silence low-priority notifications. By comparability, Apple has a Precedence Notification characteristic that highlights essential notifications.

Google is introducing a brand new low-power mode for its Maps app that can darken the display and solely present essential info, together with the navigation route and particulars of the following flip. The corporate stated that with this characteristic, which shall be accessible to Pixel 10 collection customers, it can save you as much as 4 hours of battery life.

The corporate beforehand launched rip-off detection for cellphone calls utilizing Gemini Nano and on-device speech detection for customers within the U.S. with Pixel 9 and later fashions. It’s now increasing this characteristic to customers within the U.Ok., Eire, India, Australia, and Canada.

Google can also be including a option to point out when a message is probably a rip-off, by together with a “Doubtless a rip-off” button within the notification for the message. This builds on the corporate’s current characteristic that analyzes a message’s content material and detects spam or rip-off.

The corporate’s Nano Banana picture mannequin has been in style amongst customers. It’s now including a characteristic known as Remix, powered by that mannequin together with Gemini within the Messages app, which helps you to use a photograph and reimagine it utilizing prompts. The characteristic is being rolled out to customers within the U.S., U.Ok., Australia, Canada, India, Eire, and New Zealand with RCS enabled and assist for the English language.

Google added a Pixel VIPs characteristic in June that allow’s you designate eight of your closest contacts and get updates from them by a house display widget. With the November Pixel Drop, notifications from these contacts shall be prioritized. Plus, if an incident like a flood has occurred in space they dwell in, you’d see a disaster badge within the contacts widget.

The corporate can also be including a brand new AI-powered enhancing characteristic for Google Images. Customers can faucet on “Assist me edit” and ask Images to “Take away Riley’s sun shades, open my eyes, make Engel smile and open her eyes.” The characteristic will use Google Photograph’s face teams characteristic to acknowledge folks and apply edits.

The November drop additionally expands assist for a name transcription characteristic, known as Name Notes, to Australia, Canada, the U.Ok., Eire, and Japan. And it brings a “Depraved: For Good” theme pack with new wallpapers, icons, system sounds, and GIFs primarily based on the film for Pixel 6 and later gadgets.