Google has announced six new features that will be heading to Android in the coming summer. The update is actually intended for its Pixel phones but for some reason, Google decided to push it out to all Android devices.
Pixel phones are owned by Google and as such, they usually get update first before any Android devices. In 2019, Google announced a new initiative exclusive to Pixel phones called “Pixel feature drop”. It is through this Pixel feature drop that Google use to release monthly mega updates to its Pixel phones.
It is nice to see that Google will be extending its new Pixels feature to all Android devices this time. That said, below are the six new features that Google will be rolling out to all Android devices in the coming weeks.
Six new features heading to all Android devices
- Earthquake Alerts
- Star a message
- Updated Google assistant
- Kitchen Emoji on Gboard
- Improved voice access
- Updated Android auto
Earthquake Alerts: Google is now rolling out earthquake alert globally. This detects and alerts you of a possible earthquake before it hits. Google said they are prioritising the countries where earthquake occurs most and will be rolling it out to more counties in the coming years.
They did mention that the update will be available to those in Turkey, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Users in New Zealand and Greece has been using this feature for a while now, so it might not be a new thing to them.
Star Message: You can now star your favourite message in the messaging app and find it later without hassle. The starred messages are found in the starred category for use when needed.
Updated Google Assistant: Google Assistant can now carry out in-app actions. You can talk to her to do a particular thing in an app for you and it will do it. For example, maybe you are curious about your finances, you can say “hey Google show my stocks on yahoo finance” and it will do it. To know the list of what’s available to ask, you can say “hey Google, shortcuts”.
Kitchen Emoji on Gboard: The new kitchen emoji is now available on the beta version of Gboard but will reach the stable version in the coming weeks. The keyboard will suggest an emoji you should use based on your text.
Improved voice access: Voice access has now been improved. You can set the system to work only when you are looking at it. It also now recognizes a password field, it lets you input letters, numbers, and symbols.
Updated Android Auto: You can now customize Android auto based on your preference. Users can now manually set dark mode and customize the launcher screen. More apps have now been made available on Android auto too. You now have EV charging, parking, and navigation.
Messages can also be read directly from WhatsApp or the messaging app. Browsing content is also now easier with new tabs in media tabs.
