Have a Google Pixel 8? You’re about to get these 4 new features

Bryan M. Wolfe
·2 min read
new HDR+ features coming to Pixel 8.
Google

A new set of features is set to debut as part of the June Google Pixel Feature Drop. These include fresh productivity tools and enhancements. Of the latest tools, four will undoubtedly be the most popular.

If you have a Pixel 8 or Pixel 8a, you will soon be able to use Gemini Nano on your phone. Gemini Nano, Google’s most efficient AI model for on-device tasks, was previously only available on the Pixel 8 Pro. To access Gemini Nano, you must enable developer options on the phone. Gemini Nano is a bit limited today, but it sets the foundation for powerful on-device AI features down the road.

The Recorder app will also be improved for Pixel 8 phones and will include more detailed and downloadable summaries. These enhancements result in improved conversational transcripts and the ability to export transcripts into text files or Google Docs. The Recorder app enhancements are launching on the Pixel 8 Pro and will be available in Developer options on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a.

Pixel 8 phones will also receive a noteworthy upgrade to the Find My Device app. Once the update is installed, users can locate their phone even when the battery is off or dead. This location data is encrypted and private.

screenshot showing new features coming the the Pixel 8 series via the June 2024 Feature Drop.
Google

The Pixel 8a, Pixel 8, and Pixel 8 Pro will also support Display Port, allowing users to connect to a larger display, such as a computer monitor, via USB-C. This feature lets users enjoy content like movies and TV shows on a bigger screen.

Those are the four biggest features, but there’s more. The June Google Pixel Feature Drop also includes enhancements to HDR+ and Manual Lens Expansion for certain Pixel devices. With the updated HDR+, your Pixel camera can now select the best moment from your photo with just one shutter press, making it easier to capture an image when a face is in focus and smiling. The Manual Lens Expansion feature allows you to manually choose which camera to use before taking a photo, giving you more control.

Finally, Pixel 8 users can now use a reverse number feature. With just a few taps, you can search for a reverse phone number from a call log.

With the latest feature drop, Google Pixel Watch 2 owners will receive helpful updates including car crash detection, enhanced fall detection, and the addition of PayPal on Google Wallet. Additionally, watch owners can now access the Google Home app on Wear OS.

Google’s June Pixel Feature Drop will be rolling out soon internationally and in the U.S.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Apple falls: iPhone maker out of China's top 5 as Huawei ascends

    Apple has fallen out of the top 5 ranking of smartphone vendors in China, according to data trackers, marking the first time in years the iPhone maker has fallen so low in one of its most important markets. iPhone shipments in China in the three months ended June declined 2 per cent year on year, bumping Apple down to No 6 on Canalys' list of top vendors by shipments, putting it behind Vivo, Oppo, Honor, Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi, according to a report from the market research firm on Thurs

  • Apple's China smartphone shipments drop 6.7% as Huawei surges, data shows

    BEIJING (Reuters) -Apple's smartphone shipments in China fell by 6.7% in the second quarter of 2024, as the tech giant faced intensifying competition from rivals like Huawei, according to data from market research firm Canalys. Apple's total shipments for the quarter ending in June stood at 9.7 million units, down from 10.4 million units in the same quarter last year, Canalys data shows. In contrast, Huawei's smartphone shipments surged 41% year-on-year to 10.6 milion in the quarter, bolstered by the launch of its new Pura 70 series in April.

  • A neurological disorder stole her voice. Jennifer Wexton takes it back on the House floor.

    When Jennifer Wexton rose Thursday to speak on the House floor, something she has done countless times before, the congresswoman used a voice she thought was gone forever. After a rare neurological disorder robbed her of her ability to speak clearly, Wexton has been given her voice back with the help of a powerful artificial intelligence program, allowing the Virginia Democrat to make a clone of her speaking voice using old recordings of speeches and appearances she made as a congresswoman.

  • The Morning After: OpenAI reveals its AI-powered search engine, SearchGPT

    The biggest news stories this morning: AI video startup Runway reportedly trained on ‘thousands’ of YouTube videos without permission, The best cameras for 2024, WhatsApp hits 100 million monthly active US users.

  • Elon Musk’s X Gives Users Chance to Keep Posts From AI Chatbot

    (Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk’s X has given users a way to prevent their posts and interactions from helping train his artificial intelligence chatbot Grok.Most Read from BloombergTrump Risks Losing Voters He Needs With Loaded Attacks on HarrisParis Sticks to Olympics Opening Event Plans After Rail SabotageFed’s Favored Price Gauge Rises at Mild Pace, Spending Holds UpHarris Just Showed Why Trump Is So Afraid of HerUS Accuses Famed Short-Seller Andrew Left of Securities FraudSettings for X users defa

  • Chinese AI start-up Baichuan raises US$700 million from Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi

    Baichuan AI, one of China's four so-called artificial intelligence (AI) tigers, raised about 5 billion yuan (US$687.6 million) in a new funding round that valued the start-up at more than 20 billion yuan, the company said on Thursday. The Beijing-based firm's latest round was backed by some of the biggest names in Chinese technology, including Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings and Xiaomi, along with some state-backed funds. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. China International Cap

  • OpenAI unveils SearchGPT, an AI-powered search engine

    The launch of SearchGPT comes amid growing competition in AI-powered search.

  • £7.7 million bounty offered in hunt for members of North Korea-backed hacking group

    The UK, US and South Korea have accused a North Korea-backed cyber group of carrying out an online espionage campaign to steal military and nuclear secrets. The "Andariel" group has been compromising organisations around the globe as it attempts to get hold of sensitive and classified technical information and intellectual property data, according to the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The centre, along with the FBI in the US and South Korea's national intelligence service, have issued a joint warning and advisory note about Andariel's actions.

  • Apple’s AI iPhone Could Take the Stock This High

    Apple stock hasn’t racked up Nvidia -like gains since ChatGPT’s launch almost two years ago—but that doesn’t prevent the iPhone maker from racking up gains from the AI fervor. For Raymond James analyst Srini Pajjuri, the stock is “a more stable AI play for volatile times.” Apple will offer Apple Intelligence AI features only on the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 16, which is coming this fall.

  • Apple slips from the top 5 in China, as domestic brands take all the top slots for the first quarter in history

    Vivo is China's top smartphone seller by shipments, with Huawei, HONOR, Oppo and Xiaomi rounding out the top five, reports Canalys and IDC research.

  • Nvidia Partner SMC Raising $950 Million to Tap AI Server Boom

    (Bloomberg) -- Singapore data center upstart Sustainable Metal Cloud is raising about $950 million in fresh funds, seeking to tap the global artificial intelligence boom to spur its growth.Most Read from BloombergTrump Risks Losing Voters He Needs With Loaded Attacks on HarrisHarris Just Showed Why Trump Is So Afraid of HerI Changed My Mind. The Fed Needs to Cut Rates Now.Wall Street Goes Risk-On After US Economic Data: Markets WrapMarkets Tear Up Popular Trades That Reached ‘Stupid Levels’The c

  • Get an Apple AirTag tracking device for the lowest price we've seen in months

    Keep a watchful eye on your keys, wallet, luggage, and more with an Apple AirTag. Get the tracker on sale at Amazon for just $24, the lowest price we've seen in months.

  • Epic Games says Fortnite returning to iOS in EU, leaving Samsung app store

    Epic has been attempting to expand the distribution of its games beyond smartphone companies' official app stores, opposing steep commissions on in-app payments and users being limited to downloading applications through dedicated stores. The company also said its videogames will be leaving the Samsung Galaxy Store in protest of the phone maker's decision to block default side-loading - the installation of applications on a mobile device without using its dedicated app store - on Android devices, calling it "anticompetitive". Along the same lines, Epic said its mobile games will come to AltStore on iOS in the EU.

  • Apple to Adopt Voluntary AI Safeguards Established by Biden

    (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. is the latest company to agree to a set of voluntary safeguards for artificial intelligence crafted by President Joe Biden’s administration as it tries to guide the development of the emerging technology and encourage firms to protect consumers. Most Read from BloombergTrump Risks Losing Voters He Needs With Loaded Attacks on HarrisParis Sticks to Olympics Opening Event Plans After Rail SabotageFed’s Favored Price Gauge Rises at Mild Pace, Spending Holds UpHarris Just S

  • The Morning After: Reddit is blocking AI search engines that don’t cough up for access

    The biggest news stories this morning: Intel has finally figured out its long-standing desktop CPU instability issues, Some police in Arizona will start using drones as first responders, The Engadget guide to the best smartphones.

  • ‘The View’s’ Ana Navarro Uses Nude Melania Trump Photo to Defend Kamala Harris

    Ana Navarro, a long-time co-host of The View, posted on her Instagram Thursday an old photo of nude Melania Trump as a way to troll her husband’s supporters, saying: “You wanna go low? ... I’ll happily go 20,000 leagues under the sea.”It was a picture from 2000 featured in British GQ, five years before Donald Trump married her.Navarro also included a picture of both Trumps partying with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, also from 2000. Her explanation for posting these images was that it wa

  • FBI Is Not Fully Convinced Trump Was Struck by a Bullet

    FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed during a marathon testimony on Wednesday that investigators still do not know if former President Donald Trump was grazed by a bullet or a piece of shrapnel during his attempted assassination.Twice during the hours-long session, Wray told lawmakers that the FBI was still working to determine what exactly struck the former president on his right ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. “My understanding is that either it [a bullet] or some shrapnel is wha

  • Céline Dion Fans Won't Believe How Much She’s Getting Paid by the Olympics

    Céline Dion and Lady Gaga are performing a duet at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Here's how much they are reportedly being paid for one song.

  • Donald Trump Seen in Public Without Ear Bandage

    Donald Trump ditched his ear bandage for his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. The former president’s right ear returned to public life after being injured during the assassination attempt on the former president on July 13.The former president’s large bandage became an impromptu fashion statement during the Republican National Convention with some attendees donning DIY wound dressings. Following the convention, Trump swapped out his bulky white gauze for a thin n

  • Kamala Harris' Press Release About Donald Trump's Fox News Appearance Is Going Viral

    "Something about the question mark after 'old and quite weird' is taking me out."