Google has announced March 2022’s latest feature drop, which was rolled out yesterday on Pixel phones from the Google Pixel 3a to the Google Pixel 5a. It is the company’s tenth Pixel phone update and brings several cool new features to the flagship Android phones. These features will be rolled out to the Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro, both featured in our best smartphones guide, later this month.
Discover the latest features from Google Pixel below…
Night Sight for Snapchat
Top of the billing of this latest feature drop is Night Sight for Snapchat which helps to capture low-light pictures and video full of rich detail without requiring a flash. You can find this feature by selecting the low light mode in Snapchat.
Improved At a Glance
Google has added more information to your Home and Lock screens to help you see helpful information with Pixel’s At a Glance feature. More reminders and other helpful notifications can be visible on your home screen, and this feature can show you the battery levels of Pixel Buds and other Bluetooth devices that might be connected to your phone.
Live Captions for calls
Live Captions have also arrived, which bring more accessibility to phone calls by displaying captions of what the other caller says and allowing you to type back your response – a great feature for when you don’t want to, or can’t, speak during calls.
Emoji Kitchen and sticker suggestions
Messages and video calls have also been made more fun and dynamic with the introduction of emoji, emoji kitchen and custom sticker suggestions that are now available when you type on your Pixel’s Gboard, making messaging more fun than ever.
Improved Live Translate
Google’s already impressive Live Translate has received a new interpreter mode that translates face-to-face conversations into Spanish, French and Italian live on your phone. Pixel phones can now also recognise Spanish in videos and other media content and translates into any of Live Translate’s other supported languages (English, French, Italian, German, Japanese (beta) and Spanish).
Older Pixel phone owners will also be grateful for a couple of simple yet useful extra features. “Wait Times” estimates how long you’ve been kept on hold during a call so you can share this information to improve wait times. Direct my Call is helpful for business or automated calls, and shows you on screen what the automated voice says and what menu options you have to choose from by pressing number buttons. To choose a menu option, just tap the appropriate buttons on your screen.
