📱 The Pixel 8a, 8 and 8 Pro can now be located when the device is turned off.

If you lose your device, you'll be able to locate your device even if it's turned off. This includes if the device has a completely dead battery. This is possible because the Pixel 8 series devices have backup power that can be directed to the Bluetooth chip even after the main battery is drained.

This requires:
1) Update to the June Android 14 QPR3 update;
2) Get the Find My Device Network feature. (The settings should look like this)
3) Enable location and Bluetooth services.

*When you turn off your device, you will see a message like in the picture.

Screenshot source: Android Police

😎 Google News | En

📷 Pixel camera has improved best moment selection from the HDR+ photo.

The Camera app in Pixel devices can now automatically identify the best moment from your photo in HDR+ with just a single shutter press. Google says this will make it easier to get a shot where your face is in focus and smiling.

The update is part of the June Pixel Feature Drop and is available for Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 6 and newer devices.

*Presumably available with the Pixel Camera app update coming soon.

😎 Google News | En

📷 Pixel Fold, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro got the manual camera Lens Selection feature.

One of the main features of the Pixel 8 Pro was the Pro mode in Camera app with the ability to select a lens. And now with June's Pixel Feature Drop, this feature will appear on the Pixel Fold, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro as well. When manual selection is enabled, 3 buttons will appear in the viewfinder interface:

• UW - Ultra-Wide
• W - Wide
• T - Tele

If you hold down these buttons, a zoom slider will appear with the multipliers available for the selected module.

* Google only talks about the Lens Selection feature. So the rest of the Pro Mode features probably don't apply.
*Available with the Pixel Camera app update coming soon.

😎 Google News | En

📞 Google Phone app makes it easier to search for unknown numbers.

When you tap on an unknown number in your call history, a new "Lookup" button will appear that directly opens a search engine with the phone number already entered in the query field.

This feature is part of June's Pixel Feature Drop and is being rolled out from server-side.

😎 Google News | En

Pixel Tablet gets richer notifications from Nest Doorbell.

When you receive a call from Nest Doorbell, Pixel Tablet will now be able to show you who is at your front door. Also, you can talk to them with two-way talk, or send a Quick Response.

For the feature to work, you need to:
• Have a Nest Doorbell (wired, 1st and 2nd gen) or Nest Doorbell (battery).
• The Pixel Tablet must be locked and docked for charging.
• Sign up for Public Preview in the Google Home app.

😎 Google News | En

Summarizing June's Pixel Feature Drop:

• Gemini Nano for Pixel 8 and 8a
• Speaker Labels for the "Summarize" feature in the Recorder
• Connecting an external screen over the wire
• Locate power off devices with FMD
• HDR+ improved frame selection
• Reverse phone number Lookup
• Manual cameral Lens Selection
• Richer notifications with Nest Doorbell
• Google Home widget

😎 Google News | En

🤖 Android 15's Beta 3 has been released.

This build is the first in the platform's stability phase, which means that internal and external APIs and app behaviors have reached the final version. Google notes the following new features in Beta 3:

• Integrate Credential Manager with autofill
• Integrate single tap sign-up and sign-in with biometric prompts
• WebSQL deprecated in Android WebView

List of fixed issues:

• Issue where disabling polling using the setDiscoveryTechnology method didn't disable polling.
• Issue that prevented the system sharesheet from loading in some cases.
• Issue that caused the system Settings app to crash when accessing screen saver options.
• Issue that sometimes caused the screen unlock icon to be displayed when notifications were on screen.
• Issue that prevented mobile network security settings from being changed.
• Issue with the Android Emulator that caused Simpleperf to crash when running a CPU profile.

Bluetooth resolved issues
• Resolved an issue where Bluetooth LE scans could persist in the system after an app crash.
• Fixed a bug in Bluetooth LE legacy advertising, where AdvertisingSet.setScanResponseData did not return ADVERTISE_FAILED_DATA_TOO_LARGE when scan response data exceeded the 31-byte limit.
• Fixed a bug that caused LE connection failures on the GATT server by passing the address type from BluetoothGattServer.connect to native.

Build: AP31.240426.023 → AP31.240517.022
Security patch level: June 2024

🔗 Factory images
🔗 OTA images
🔗 Sign up for the beta test for the over-the-air upgrade (you won't be able to exit without losing data until September-October)

#Android15

😎 Google News | En