June’s Pixel Feature Drop: At a Glance flashlight & doorbell alerts, ‘pocket operator’ music maker

Google is rolling out the Pixel’s eleventh Feature Drop this June with Android 12 QPR3. It’s available for the Pixel 4/XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, and Pixel 6 Pro from today onwards.

• Here are the 35 issues that Android 12 QPR3 fixes on Pixel phones

More At a Glance 

Following the last set of additions three months ago, At a Glance on the Pixel lock and homescreen is adding three more features with the June Feature Drop:

• Nest Doorbell video feed: Some have had this integration for a few months now, and Google is now making the ability to see a miniature camera livestream right from your lock screen official when rung. A “compatible Nest Doorbell (sold separately) and the Google Home or Nest app” are required, while a “Doorbell” will appear in At a Glance settings.
• Flashlight reminder: When your torch is on, At a Glance will prominently note that and let you quickly turn it off with a tap. This is meant to conventionally address how people can unknowingly leave their flashlight on, while it saves you from having to open Quick Settings again.
• Air Quality alerts: Like on the Nest Hub and Google Search, AQI warnings will soon appear for your current location (in the US, Australia, and India). This feature is listed as “coming soon.”

pocket operator for Pixel

In partnership with teenage engineering, Google is releasing a “pocket operator for Pixel” app to let you “turn everyday sounds into music.” Available via the Play Store and coinciding with the June Feature Drop, it curiously requires the Pixel 5 and 6 series or newer. 

…shoot video content and turn it into fun music and video cut-ups. Layer sounds, add visual effects, create patterns and beats and mix it all together to make your own unique tracks.

Other features include:

For some time now, you’ve been able to save digital vaccine cards to Google Pay — soon Google Wallet. The workflow has now been streamlined in the US, Canada, and Australia with a screenshot of it automatically triggering a shortcut in the bottom left-corner preview. From there, it can be placed on your homescreen, complete with a more recognizable icon.

Conversation mode in Sound Amplifier is now more widely available on Pixel 3 (and newer) after first being announced in December. A deep learning model uses audio and visual signals to separate speech and just amplify the voice that you want, with other people and background noise filtered out. You simply point your camera to the person you want to talk to.

A trio of new Curated Culture wallpapers from illustrator Yann Bastard celebrating Pride Month: “Yann, a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, has a soft spot for big, bold shapes and bright colors. He was born in Zaragoza, Spain, and is now based in Rennes, France.”

Expanded feature availability:

• Car Crash Detection is now available in Canada for Pixel 3 and later (Pixel 3a excluded).
• Chat translation in messages is now available in Traditional Chinese, Dutch, Korean, Thai, and Turkish for Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.