Google Pixel

Seven years into the Google Pixel series, 2023 marked Google’s biggest year yet with six new devices released. It was a year where Google fixed a lot of mistakes, but also introduced some growing pains to the lineup. Let’s take a look back.

Astrophotography has been a fun part of Google’s camera experience for the past several years, but the feature lost support for ultrawide shots a while back. Now, ultrawide astrophotography is returning, but solely on the Pixel 8 Pro.

Besides the Gemini Nano-powered Summarize on the 8 Pro, the latest Recorder update adds “Transcribe again” to other Pixel devices.

With Gemini now in the wild, Google’s next task is to integrate the foundational model into its various products. A new report today describes hardware efforts like a “Pixie” AI assistant that could launch with the Pixel 9.

Besides the new Repair Mode introduced with Android 14 QPR1 and the December Feature Drop, Google is widely launching a new Pixel Diagnostic App and repair manuals in English.

In Android 14 QPR2, it’s been revealed that Google is soon going to let users turn off the At a Glance widget on the Pixel Launcher, but in the latest beta, we’ve also found that you might also be able to relocate it.

Google is rolling out support for “Repair Mode” on select Pixel devices, which safely stores away your data when you go in for a screen fix or similar repairs.

Google’s Pixel phones, especially those powered by Tensor chips, aren’t known for their gaming performance, but there seems to be a considerable upgrade coming with the December 2023 update as a GPU upgrade behind the scenes should lead to better performance.

With the December 2023 security patch, Google is rolling out the stable QPR1 update to Android 14 and a big Feature Drop for the following Pixel devices: 5a, 6, 6 Pro, 6a, 7, 7 Pro, 7a, Tablet, Fold, 8, and 8 Pro.

The first big update to Android 14 is rolling out today with QPR1 and it contains a number of fixes for both the Pixel 8 series and older supported Google phones.

Google is rolling out a pretty big December Feature Drop that notably adds Video Boost to the Pixel 8 Pro and other camera features, while Watch Unlock is finally here for the Pixel Watch.

Google is rolling out Pixel Camera 9.2 with a number of updates, like the new UI for older devices and some tweaks for the Pixel 8.

Android 14 introduced a slew of new lockscreen customization options, opening up the possibility for users to completely change what their Pixel looks like before it’s unlocked. This quick guide will take you through changing your lockscreen and what you can do to it.

Like a watch or the phone itself, a smartphone case is something that gives you a chance to get really personal about what you want, and there are so many options out there. So, when you’re looking to buy a smartphone case, what are you looking for specifically?

Android widgets are at a good place right now, thanks to Material You. Besides an uptick since Android 12, they look modern and provide functionality that complements the full app nicely. However, for the experience to really shine on the Pixel, Google needs to add the ability to stack and group widgets together so that you can access a lot more without taking up too much of your homescreen. Size is their one downside, and fitting in a widget often comes at the expense of app icons.

With the latest beta updates to Android 14, Google seems to have drastically sped up how fast Pixel devices can install an OTA update. Now, we’re getting a closer look at how that’s been accomplished.

Available for all modern Pixel devices, Community Lens wallpapers are shot by Googlers and the collection has just been updated with 12 new backgrounds for 2023.

Seamless updates have been supported on Google’s smartphones since the Nexus days, but if there’s one complaint to be had about the background install on Pixel phones, it’s that they’re often maddeningly slow. But, with the latest updates, Google seems to be working on just that.

Qi2 was announced in early 2023 as the next generation of the wireless charging standard that many devices use, but only now are the first Qi2 devices actually coming. Plus, it’s looking like Google is preparing Qi2 for the next Pixel release.

If your Pixel phone on Android 14 has been repeatedly rebooting (in a bootloop), Google has a “specialized” fix that involves manually installing an update via the Pixel Repair Tool.