The December Pixel Feature Drop based on Android 14 QPR1 has arrived.

Pixels 5a and newer are getting the update (support has officially ended for the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G). In addition to the new features and fixes added in Android 14 QPR1, Google is also adding new features in system apps. So, in order:

Pixel 8 Pro:
• Summarize in the Voice Recorder app with Gemini Nano
• Smart Reply in Gboard with Gemini Nano
• Video Boost with Night sight video mode

• Night Sight in Time Lapse (8 and 8 Pro)
• Improved Portrait Lighting (Pixel 6 and newer)
• Google Photos' Unblur tool now better sharpens images of dogs and cats. (Pixel 6 and later)
• Dual Screen Preview feature in Pixel Camera on Pixel Fold
• Webcam mode via USB connection (Pixel 6 and newer)
• The camera's Clean feature can help remove smudges, streaks, and creases from scanned documents. (Pixel 6 and later)
• Google Password Manager can now identify which of your accounts support passkeys and help you add them with just a few taps.
• Repair Mode (Pixel 6 and newer)
• Unlock with Wear OS Watches
• Weather in the Clock app
• Contextual replies in Call Screen (Pixel 6 and newer)
• Spatial audio for Pixel Tablet
• Clear Calling for Pixel Tablet
• Recorder app now transcribes in 28 new languages
• Pixel’s Direct My Call and Hold for Me are expanding to business numbers without a toll-free prefix.18 Both features are also now available in the UK (Pixel 6 and newer)

Build Number: UQ1A.231205.015
Security Patch: December 2023

🔗 Full description in Google Blog

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The Pixel's December 2023 Feature Drop is rolling out today, and it brings a new feature I previously detailed called Repair Mode.

What is it and how does it work? Here's a first look at Repair Mode and an explanation of how it works under-the-hood.

The December 2023 Feature Drop update brings a much newer Arm Mali GPU kernel driver to Tensor Pixels, which users report significantly improves performance in games like Genshin Impact and Fortnite!

The GPU kernel driver has been upgraded from r38p1 released on August 18, 2022 to r44p1, which was released on October 11, 2023 (H/T @mile_freak07). (The GPU kernel driver version in the current Android 14 QPR2 beta is still r44p1.)

If you have a Tensor Pixel, try out some games/GPU benchmarks and see if the performance has improved significantly for you.

Alex Mullis noticed a major performance improvement in Genshin Impact a few weeks back after the game's version 4.2 update. The game ran quite poorly on the Pixel 8's Android 14 stable release, but ran much better on the QPR beta.

User TechDroider did a performance comparison between stable Android 14 and Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 in Fortnite.

What is the improved Portrait Light tool in Google Photos ?

The Portrait Light tool has long been available on Pixel devices and Google One subscriptions, and allows you to adjust the angle of incidence and intensity of light in photos with people.

With December's Pixel Future Drop Google split the tool into "Add Light" and the novelty "Balance Light" From my tests, I'd say it adjusts the intensity of shadows. (Available for Pixel 6 and newer)

The roll out is server-side. To check if the feature is available, open an image with people in Google Photos, click edit, go to the tools tab and click on "Portrait Light".

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Where to find and how to use Watch Unlock ?

When the feature becomes available, you can find it in Settings / Security & Privacy / Device Unlock / Fingerprint & Face Control / Watch Unlock or in the Pixel Watch companion app / Watch preferences / Security / Watch Unlock.

Once the feature is set up, it will work as follows:

• A simple swipe up or tap on a notification on the lock screen will instantly unlock the device, followed by an "Unlocked by your watch" notification at the top.

• If you tap on an empty space on the lock screen, an open lock icon will appear instead of your fingerprint, and an "Unlocked by your watch" text will appear at the bottom between shortcuts.

• Once unlocked, a corresponding "Unlocked by this watch" notification will appear on the watch. From the same notification the phone can be locked with the corresponding button.

• This feature depends on the distance between the watch and the phone. If it is more than ~1 meter, the phone will not be able to unlock and you will be asked to 'move watch closer'.

Roll out is server-side, and the feature itself works via Google Play Services.

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Android 14 QPR2 (March) Beta 2 is out!

List of fixes:
• Fixed an issue where battery usage information that was reported in system settings was sometimes incorrect.
• Fixed an issue where the fingerprint icon on the lock screen would sometimes display before other information had loaded in always-on display mode.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the biometric prompt to crash, causing it to be dismissed before a user could interact with it.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the Internet Quick Settings tile to indicate that there was no Wi-Fi connection, even when the device was connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Known issues:
• Sometimes when a user unlocks the device using their fingerprint, there is no haptic feedback.
• For Pixel Fold devices, sometimes after a user unlocks the device while it's folded, the inner display doesn't turn on after unfolding the device.
• The Assistant At a Glance widget sometimes displays weather information for the wrong location.

Build number: AP11.231020.016 → AP11.231117.006
Security Patch: December 2023

🔗 Android Beta

• OTA images

• Factory Images

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Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2 Settings app finally uses the true Material 3 Switches from the Material Library

Since the release of Android 12, Google has been using a custom implementation of switches in the settings app and across the system. And even when the open source Material Design 3 library introduced the Switch component, Google was slow to implement it in Android settings.

But now with the second beta of Android 14 QPR2, Google has finally switched to the component from the Material Design open library.

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