Google Pixel Drop in December: Gemini brings new features
The Google December Pixel drop is here, and most of the new features are upgrades to Gemini or are otherwise powered by AI. Of course, there are plenty of non-AI improvements too. But first, Gemini – if you’re using the Advanced version, you can store things in the AI, like food preferences. If you then ask for a recipe suggestion, for example, that knowledge will be incorporated into better answers.
Gemini can now better control third-party apps and even devices. It can work with your standard phone and messaging app to communicate with people and businesses. Thanks to the new extension, it can control Spotify and control any device in your smart home, as long as your Google account has access to it.
Gemini Nano can answer calls for you, and now you can control it with contextual suggestions. For example, if a delivery person calls and asks where to drop off your package, Gemini will suggest possible answers and choose the answer you selected. You can interrupt Gemini at any time and take over the call yourself.
As for camera improvements, Google Pixel phones can now take Ultra HDR photos and share them to your Instagram feed. Snapchat now supports the new Photo Picker, so you can easily share a photo – whether the file is on your phone or stored in your cloud account.
Owners of a Google Pixel Fold or Pixel 9 Pro Fold can now take advantage of the cover screen, which shows a live preview of the photo and allows your subject to strike a pose. If you’re photographing young children, the outer display can capture their attention with colorful animated characters – including Joy from Inside Out if you have a 9 Pro Fold.
If you like planning and organizing with screenshots, the new Pixel screenshot features will automatically tag and categorize your screenshots. Ticket and credit card information can be read from a screenshot and stored in Google Wallet for quick, easy (and secure) access. Circle to Search now offers the ability to save a screenshot for safekeeping.
The Google December Pixel drop offers other cool improvements. For example, the auto-generated subtitles now try to capture the speaker’s emotions and capture them in text form. Plus, the Recorder app has a noise-cancelling feature called Clear Voice.
Google Pixel Watch now shows Nest video feed
The Pixel UI gets an improved Simple View – it increases font size and touch sensitivity, making it easier to control apps and widgets, especially for people with failing eyesight.
It’s not just Pixel phones that are getting new features. For example, Pixel Watch 2 owners can now get a live view from a Nest Cam or Nest Doorbell. Pixel Watch 3 users in Germany and Portugal have access to Loss of Pulse Detection, which joins the Fall and Car Crash Detection features – it automatically contacts authorities in an emergency.
