Google Pixel

Google is following last month’s big Pixel Feature Drop with a bug fixer. The January update addresses six issues for the Pixel 5 and Google’s other current phones.

Google today is releasing the first software update of 2021 for the Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), and Pixel 5. The January security patch follows last month’s sizable Pixel Feature Drop.

The December Feature Drop introduced a trio of smart features to better optimize Pixel usage. Adaptive Charging, which has your Pixel top up slowly overnight to preserve battery health, is the most significant, but there are key requirements to get it to work.

At the tail end of September, Photos got a revamped editing experience on Android with new features. Notably, there’s a new tab that surfaces machine learning-derived “Suggestions.” Google Photos is now rolling out a slew of new sunset filters that are first coming to the Pixel. 

Google has improved the screenshot experience on Android quite a bit in recent years, and now the company is delivering another tweak. With the latest Feature Drop, Google has quietly made Pixel phones take a screenshot instantly.

The last Pixel software update for 2020 is rolling out today with the December security patch. It’s rolling out for the Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), and Pixel 5..

Alongside the December security patch, Made by Google is closing 2020 with a Pixel Feature Drop. Coming three months after the last release that coincided with Android 11, the Pixel 5 picks up a slate of new “Adaptive” features, as well as improved GPS. Google is also bringing several newer features to older devices.

The best part of Pixel smartphones is the clever and useful software. Now, one of Google’s best Pixel-exclusive apps, Recorder, is adding support for external mics and Bluetooth headphones for more flexible recording.

There are a number of background services needed to make Android devices run that present themselves as apps that update via the Play Store. Google’s Pixel phones have more than a few, with a small change made recently renaming “Connectivity Health Services” to “Adaptive Connectivity Services.”

Made by Google products are known for machine learning-powered features that automatically respond to user habits. “Adaptive Sound” looks to be the latest capability coming to Google’s Pixel phones.

In a bid to clear stock, the Google Store in the UK is offering substantial discounts on the last-gen Pixel 3a and Pixel 4 series with unique promo codes for both devices.

This year’s penultimate Pixel software update is rolling out today with the November security patch. It’s rolling out for the Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, and Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), and Pixel 5.

One of the Google Pixel 5 features that got a lot of acclaim in early reviews was Portrait Light, the ability to adjust the light source of a photo after it’s been taken. Now, before that phone is even released in the United States, the feature is already rolling out to older Pixel phones.

Following last month’s launch, the first update to Android 11 is rolling out today with the October security patch. It’s available for the Pixel 2, Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, and Pixel 4a.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that Google’s latest Pixel ads miss the mark. The production is fine, sure. The narrator? Great. The lighting and art style? No problem at all! But across eight different scenarios, they somehow argue that the Pixel (the phone) is better than Pixel (the dog). This is objectively wrong.

Earlier this year, Google lost the “Distinguished Engineer” responsible for the research that went into the Pixel’s imaging capabilities. Marc Levoy is now at Adobe, and sat down with The Verge for a very interesting interview about his career and what’s next in photography.

Google today launched Android 11 for the latest Pixel phones. In addition to new media controls and smart device controls, it features the September security patch. If it hasn’t rolled out to your device, Google has posted the official OTA and factory images.