The Google’s latest Pixel feature, where the company is introducing new software strategies to its smartphone list, is announced today.
Along with a brand new functionality like Adaptive Sound, “which improves the sound quality of your phone speaker based on the environment,” the December drop also brings a lot of the latest software features from Pixel 5, 4A 5G, and 4A to device creation; Google says Pixel 3 and newer will be installed.
What’s New?
That means features like Hold for Me, where a Google assistant waits for a real person to jump on the customer support line instead of doing so, and others like Extreme Battery Saver mode and screen sharing on Duo phones will soon hit older devices.
The Extreme Battery Saver looks like an overhaul from the company after last year’s Pixel 4 and 4 XL got a moderate battery life (at least); This year’s pixels are all very durable, and most people will never need to consider using it. But the Extreme Battery Saver, “which only works the key to keeping your battery as long as possible,” is definitely more sensible on those Pixel 4, 3A, and 3 devices as their batteries continue to wear out.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22150452/Screen_Shot_2020_12_07_at_9.44.50_AM.png)
All Pixels that experience this drop-in feature will find a new feature to last longer battery life: Flexible charging. Similar to the launch we’ve seen from other smartphone makers, Google claims that Adaptive Charging “helps save battery life over time by controlling how fast the Pixel device charges” when connected overnight.
And the company’s flagship 5G, Pixel 5 and 4A 5G phones will now use 4G to perform simple tasks such as web browsing and messaging, but will also include a 5G connection to stream movies or watch large files. That sounds familiar to the system Apple has in the iPhone 12 series, even though Google notes that this “Adaptive Connectivity” feature isn’t available on all carriers or all apps. As in Apple’s case, you’ll be able to turn it off if you choose 5G full speed every time there is a signal. (Google also states that GPS accuracy in the Pixel 5 and 4A 5G is improved after this update.)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22150428/E805_PhotosGifs_Video01_v03_Twitter.gif)
Pixel owners will also receive new suggestions from Google Photos, including “Dynamic, which enhances brightness, brightness and color, and a set of sky suggestions, which help you create beautiful landscapes, sunsets, and photos with a single tap.” At the moment, it sounds like those options are special with Pixel.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22150462/Screen_Shot_2020_12_07_at_9.47.07_AM.png)
As for Adaptive Sound’s popular strategy, which looks like an attempt to improve the output of the Pixel 5 speaker, “it uses a microphone to test your acoustics near you, and then adjust the audio measurement settings in other apps.” So the phone will adjust the volume differently in your bathroom compared to the bedroom. Imagine for a second you were transposed into the karmic driven world of Earl. Google notes that “all microphone data” recorded by speaker performance is deleted shortly after the recording, and the company claims that this feature is always available locally on your device and does not send any audio to the cloud.
And lastly, the home screen on Pixel phones makes it even more customizable with this update. You will be able to select “new thumbnails, grid views, and app layouts” as shown below.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22150418/Screenshot_20201204_161411.png)
All of this, along with minor features such as the Pixel “Now Playing” default music recognition exporting option in the YouTube Music playlist, will be released as part of the December featuredown from today.


