Google Messages is rolling out its own camera UI that replaces your phone’s default viewfinder.
You can access the built-in camera from within a conversation or the shortcut that appears on the homescreen next to search.
Previously, Google Messages just used the system camera app. On Pixel devices, you could adjust Exposure, White Balance, and set a Timer.
This new viewfinder, which is built with Compose, is more basic. You can still adjust the zoom level with three defaults above the shutter and pinch to zoom beyond that, but the only other settings are flash in the top-right corner and switching between the front and rear-facing cameras. There are unfortunately no grid options.
One new feature is directly switching between the Photo and Video modes from the bottom of the camera. Previously, Google Messages made you choose before entering the fullscreen UI.
This just started rolling out via a server-side update and we’re seeing it with the latest beta version (20240312_00_RC00) .
A custom UI should allow Google Messages to add more expressive features down the road, but the loss of camera controls by not using the default view is unfortunate.
Google appears to be working on a new Pixel feature called “Adaptive Touch” which will be able to adjust sensitivity of the touchscreen automatically based on certain factors.
On Pixel phones, users have been able to, for a while now, boost the touchscreen’s sensitivity when a screen protector is applied. On Pixel 8, Google even made that automatic. Now, Google appears to be working on a new “Adaptive Touch” option that bring this ability a step further.
As spotted by Android Authority, Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2 labels “Adaptive Touch” as a feature for 2024 Pixel devices, meaning it’s likely set to debut with the Pixel 9 series. The feature would allow the touchscreen sensitivity to be adjusted based on certain factors. Google describes:
…touch sensitivity will automatically adjust to your environment, activities and screen protector.
It’s not clear exactly how this will work, but it seems likely that this would include the automatic boost we saw on Pixel 8 extend to other cases. A wet screen, wearing gloves, or a boost when playing games are other places where this could feasibly come in handy.
Notably, OnePlus last year debuted “Aqua Touch” on the OnePlus 12 which delivered impressive touchscreen response on a wet display, so this “Adaptive Touch” could be Google’s play at something similar.
It also remains to be seen if this feature would make its way back to existing hardware, but given another new feature Google is working on is exclusive to newer hardware, it seems likely that it won’t.
Your phone’s touch sensitivity determines how well the screen reacts to your touches.
Various factors like how wet your fingers are or whether a screen protector is applied can affect how sensitive your phone’s screen feels.
The Pixel 9 may add an “Adaptive Touch” feature that automatically adjusts touch sensitivity to account for these factors.
If you’ve ever tried to swipe through your phone on a rainy day, you’re probably aware of how finicky it can be. Wet fingers can disrupt the ability for capacitive touch screens to register your touch, causing your tap or swipe inputs to be dropped. Thick or low-quality screen protectors can also reduce your phone’s touch sensitivity. For these reasons, many phones offer touch sensitivity settings or at least a dedicated “screen protector mode” to boost the touch sensitivity. The upcoming Google Pixel 9 may take things a step further by offering an automatic “Adaptive Touch” mode.
While I was digging through last month’s Android 14 QPR3 Beta 1 release, I found evidence that suggests Google is preparing to add an “Adaptive Touch” setting under Settings > Display > Touch sensitivity. Although the setting doesn’t currently show up on my Google Pixel 8 Pro running the latest Android QPR beta, I dug into the code and found that when Adaptive Touch is enabled, “touch sensitivity will automatically adjust to your environment, activities and screen protector.”
Touch sensitivity settings on a Google Pixel 8 Pro running Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2.
It’s not quite clear yet what environmental factors or activities will cause the touch sensitivity to be automatically adjusted, but it’s possible that wet fingers (or a wet screen) will be one factor. Google may be taking inspiration from the OnePlus 12 and its Aqua Touch feature that adjusts the touch sensitivity when the phone is wet, making it possible to use the phone in the rain.
Adaptive Touch is said to also automatically adjust the touch sensitivity when a screen protector is detected. With the launch of the Pixel 8 series, Google quietly debuted a new “screen protector detector” service that can detect when the user puts a screen protector on or takes one off. The OS then informs the user that they should enable or disable screen protector mode accordingly.
When I first discovered the code for “Adaptive Touch” in Android 14 QPR3 Beta 1, I wasn’t sure if this feature would be coming to existing Pixels or if it would be reserved for upcoming devices like the Google Pixel 8a and Pixel 9. Now, however, I’ve found evidence that links this upcoming “Adaptive Touch” feature to Google’s 2024 flagship Pixel lineup.
Code within the latest Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2 release reviewed by Android Authority explicitly labels “Adaptive Touch” as a “P24” feature. Google often uses shorthands like “P2X” internally to refer to their Pixel devices for a particular year. “P23”, for example, refers to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro because they were released in 2023. The Pixel 7a was also released in 2023, but it’s referred to as “P23_MIDYEAR” because it was released in the middle of the year. Thus, if we’re going by past history, then “Adaptive Touch” may be a Pixel 9 feature.
However, we don’t know if “Adaptive Touch” will be exclusive to the Pixel 9 or if it’ll eventually trickle down to older devices. While Google does bring a lot of new features to older Pixel devices through their quarterly Pixel Feature Drop updates, they also intentionally leave out some features that older Pixels are technically capable of running. The company does this to differentiate its product lineup and make newer devices seem more appealing, but it remains to be seen if the Pixel 9’s Adaptive Touch feature will be worth keeping as an exclusive.
Back in September 2023, Google introduced an updated wordmark and 3D robot design for Android. That new wordmark is appearing on Pixel devices with the Android 14 QPR3 Beta.
On Pixel devices, the boot sequence starts with the “Google” logo appearing in full color and then a Material You Dynamic Color “G” that animates in. “Powered by Android” then appears at the bottom of the screen.
Starting with Android 14 QPR3 Beta 1 on some devices, “Powered by” is centered (instead of left-aligned) with the updated wordmark that prominently features a capitalized “A” and other tweaked letters. This is followed by the Android head.
As of QPR3 Beta 2, not all devices, like the Pixel Tablet, have been refreshed with the new Android wordmark.
On newer Android devices, like the Honor Magic 6 Pro and Xiaomi 14 Ultra, a 3D version of the head, which appears at the bottom edge of the screen, is used. The Galaxy S24 features the new wordmark.
Meanwhile, QPR3 Beta 2 increases the size of the boot animation as evidenced by the size of the “Google” logo getting bigger when the animation starts.
It’s a shame that this change wasn’t timed with the initial Android 14 release in October, or the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro launch.
In addressing a Pixel feature that’s disappeared, Google has confirmed that the Pixel 8a is on its way.
Back in Android 14’s QPR1 update, Google added a new extension of battery stats, which showed charging cycle counts and the date the battery was manufactured. This was a welcome addition, but also limited in how useful it actually was. In the March 2024 update for Pixel phones, though, this feature disappeared.
According to Google on a bug tracker page, that’s intended behavior, as this page was never meant to show up on existing devices.
Rather, Android’s new battery stats are only supported to be showing on Pixel 8a and other future Pixels. Google says:
We only enable this page on Pixel 8a and beyond, so this is WAI(Working as Intended)
So, now we know a feature that’s coming to future Pixels, as well as getting Google’s first official confirmation of the Pixel 8a coming.
Exactly why the feature was showing on existing Pixels in the first place, and for as long as it’s been available, is unclear, but the stats themselves were often not particularly accurate. It also opens up the possibility that Google intends to build on this feature going forward, perhaps even adding proper battery health information.
The Pixel 8a is expected to launch in the next couple of months, most likely around Google I/O in May 2024.
During the Q&A portion, a Google engineer on the Android generative AI team said that Gemini “Nano will not be coming to Pixel 8 because of some hardware limitations.”
Google is otherwise “working to bring Nano to more devices.” Specifically, more “high-end devices in the near future.”
This does not bode well for older/existing devices getting Gemini Nano. Specs-wise, the difference between the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro is RAM at 8 GB versus 12 GB. In terms of whether the Pixel 8 could run Gemini Nano at a technical level, it probably is capable as evidenced by how the entry-level Galaxy S24 also has 8 GB of RAM and uses it for on-device Magic Compose in Google Messages.
That said, running an intensive model — for a handful of features — might have other performance impacts on the rest of the user experience that Google does not think is worth making.
On the Pixel 8 Pro, Gemini Nano powers Recorder’s Summarize capability (more on that below) and on-device Gboard Smart Reply in WhatsApp, Line, and KakaoTalk.
Meanwhile, Google detailed a bit more about how Gemini Nano powers the “Summarize” feature in the Pixel Recorder app. When Google started experimenting with such a capability in 2022, it was looking at cloud-based models:
User privacy is a top priority and we really wanted our most privacy-centric users, which for Recorder is roughly half of our users, to be able to use such a highly requested feature. This caused us to pause the project at the time.
Recorder then switched to Gemini Nano and a smaller team was able to implement it in 4 months:
We were pleasantly surprised with Gemini Nano’s reduced latency and with how capable the model was despite it being much smaller than what we used during prototyping.
If Gemini Nano is not coming to older Pixel devices, Google really should implement a cloud-based summarization for the other half of users that want this “highly-requested feature.” After all, Recorder already introduced a cloud-powered “Transcribe again” feature in December that makes possible speech-to-text in a lot more languages. Just make cloud summaries something users have to manually trigger for each recording and then delete that audio.
Satellite connectivity for smartphones has proven valuable on Apple’s iPhone, but it’s a feature that’s struggling to get out the door on Android devices. This week, though, a new “Satellite SOS” feature has started appearing on Google Pixel phones, and we’ve got a sneak preview of what it will be able to do.
If you dive into Settings > Safety & emergency on a Pixel phone today, you’ll very likely see “Satellite SOS” appear between Emergency SOS and Car Crash Detection. Google, seemingly in an error, has rolled out the setting widely to virtually all Pixel device through a recent update to Adaptive Connectivity Services.
But, right now, the feature doesn’t do anything. Tapping “Satellite SOS” on a Google Pixel device doesn’t open any menus, but it will soon.
Through a rooted Pixel, we were able to access the menu Google is preparing for this feature. The Satellite SOS page explains:
With your Pixel, you can message with emergency services and share your location when you can’t connect to a mobile or Wi-Fi network.
The page explains that you can call or text emergency services, share your location using Google Maps, and answer questions about your emergency. There’s no word if you’ll be able contact anyone outside of emergency services, but Google also details that it will share your name and phone number from your Google account, as well as contact details for up to three emergency contacts.
Google reiterates what details are shared at the bottom of the page:
When you connect with emergency services by satellite, your name, email, phone number, location, device information (IMEI, language, model, battery level), and emergency information are share with emergency services and satellite service providers.
The page links out to a Google support page about what countries are supported by Satellite SOS, but the page unfortunately is not yet live. There’s also a link to a Garmin Search and Rescue Insurance plan. Notably, Google Messages previously showed signs of using Garmin services for satellite connectivity.
There are demos for satellite connectivity, but neither “Try a demo” or “Test real mode” are currently working.
It’s unclear when Google intends to push this functionality live, but the fact that the shortcut is appearing widely on Pixel phones today combined with how fleshed out this behind-the-scenes settings menu is suggests that it’s not too far off.
The Pixel 8 series brings some big improvements to Google’s flagship series, and it’s also now bringing in awards, as the duo has now won the 2023 Phone of the Year award at MWC.
Each year at Mobile World Congress (MWC), the GSMA hosts the “Global Mobile Awards.” The event includes a series of awards for the mobile industry such as “Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough,” “Best Mobile Network Infrastructure,” and more. In the “Device” category, one of the biggest awards is given to “Best Smartphone.”
The Best Smartphone award combines outstanding performance, innovation and leadership as determined through assessment of smartphones on the market during the period January 2023to December 2023, by world leading independent analysts, journalists and influencers.
Candidates this year included the iPhone 15 Pro series, OnePlus Open, Samsung Galaxy S23 series, and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, as well as the Google Pixel 8 series.
And, as announced at the event, the Google Pixel 8 series took the crown and ended up being named the “Best Smartphone” of 2023 by the GSMA. Rick Osterloh posted about the win on Twitter/X this evening.
Notably, Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro took the title in 2023, with the iPhone 13 Pro Max winning the year prior. In 2021, the Galaxy S21 Ultra won, but this is the first time Google has taken the title. The Pixel 6 Pro was on the shortlist in 2021 while the Pixel 3’s Night Sight feature won a GSMA award for “Disruptive Device Innovation” in 2019.
Google reportedly hit a new milestone on the back of Pixel 8 this year, shipping 10 million total devices in 2023.
Thrilled about Pixel 8 winning another important Phone of the Year award at MWC! @madebygoogle thank you to the entire Pixel user community for helping us get there, and congratulations to our team for great progress! pic.twitter.com/zIN75YHSmS
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.
First spotted with Android 14’s QPR2 Beta 1 update, the “Seamless Updates” feature has gotten a whole lot faster on Pixel phones.
Where Google’s updates used to take upwards of 20-40 minutes to install a simple OTA, the new process could be as quick as 10-15 minutes, perhaps even less. It’s extremely impressive and would make anyone wonder how Google pulled it off.
On Twitter/X, APKMirror founder, Artem Russakovskii, discusses a few main points of improvement that seem to be responsible for faster seamless updates. Russakovskii cites “Google’s tests” and Google’s David Anderson (a software engineer working at the company since 2018), but Google itself doesn’t seem to have publically shared this data.
That starts with compression operations, which Android is now parallelizing for a speed boost of 26% in Google’s own tests, Russakovskii explains. OTA updates on Android require the compression of thousands of “small blocks” of data, so putting those operations in parallel certainly speeds things up.
Related to that, Android is now batching operations for those same blocks. Where the OS previously would make 200 separate writes of 4KB files, it now makes a single write of one 800KB file. Google apparently found a 24% reduction in install time with this method.
Finally, the biggest improvement comes in newer Pixels switching from the GZ compression method to the LZ4 method. Google describes LZ4 as “extremely fast compression,” and it certainly shows here.
This apparently results in a 50% reduction in install time but only applies to specific devices. Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8, and Pixel 8 Pro are the only devices eligible for this new compression method, as older Pixels will stick with the slower GZ method. It’s unclear why this is the case, but it could have something to do with the chip. Mishaal Rahman highlighted on Twitter/X that, when installing Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1, Pixel 8 Pro was taking advantage of Tensor G3’s mid-cores to speed things along, and Google specifically notes that LZ4’s faster compression is “scalable with multi-cores CPU.”.
Google is, according to Russakovskii, changing its guidance for other Android OEMs with this new method in mind, so there’s a chance we could see similar improvements outside of Pixel in the future.
3. Google switched the Pixels (I'm getting clarification on exactly which, but at least P7) to use LZ4 compression instead of GZ. This resulted in a 50% (!!) decrease in install time.
All of these combined take a ~25 min install time down to around 6 minutes.
How Google Messages will let you edit recent sends
While we wait for a slew of existing features to roll out, Google Messages is working on the ability to edit what you’ve recently sent.
It’s a staple of modern messaging services at this point. Long-press on a message you sent and a new “Edit” pencil icon — as shown by AssembleDebug — will appear in the toolbar at the top next to copy, delete, star, and overflow. Editing is available to messages sent in the last 30 minutes.
This will place that message in the compose field for you to edit, with a checkmark in place of the send button.
Strings in the latest beta today (version 20240213_01_RC00) indicate that Google will note the “Original message” in addition to what it was “Edited to”:
<string name=”edited_message_title”>”Edited to: “</string>
From what was enabled by AssembleDebug today, something you’ve edited is sent as a new message for those that don’t have the feature active. What could be happening behind-the-scenes is that the receiving Google Messages client is more or less interpreting that edit and seamlessly displaying it to the recipient. This would be similar to how emoji reactions work today with the iPhone.
Meanwhile, this beta also reveals that the double tap gesture will also work to remove a reaction.
Google Messages might be switching to double tap to react
Following the wide rollout of Photomoji a few weeks ago, Google Messages is readying a small change wherein you double tap to react.
About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.
Now, you long-press on a text or chat to get the tray of emoji and Photomoji options. The latest Google Messages beta (version 20240208_00_RC00) adds a promo string detailing how double_tap_to_react is coming. This change is not yet live.
It remains to be seen whether you still press and hold to access copy, delete, star, share, forward, and view details from the top toolbar. Divorcing how you react in Google Messages and that menu makes some sense. That said, I’m not sure there will be much of a time savings.
Meanwhile, this beta release renames various Bard strings to Gemini now that the rebrand is live. It would suggest Google is proceeding with this one-to-one chatbot inside Messages.
Google Messages rolls out text field redesign with shortcuts bar [U]
2023 Google Messages is rolling out a redesign of the compose text field that features a dedicated shortcuts bar.
Update 1/30: Over the past few days, this redesign has widely rolled out to the stable channel (version 20240116_01_RC04).
Update 1/27/24: The redesigned RCS and Text message field is starting to appear for those not enrolled in the Google Messages beta.
Compared to the other features announced in late November, Google never detailed this change. At the start of this month, Photomoji and Magic Compose exited beta. (Animated emoji is also widely available.) Other capabilities like Custom Bubbles, Voice Moods with a redesigned recorder, and Profiles are not widely available yet.
Despite the standalone button, the redesigned voice recorder with Voice Moods is not yet rolled out for most users. The same can be said of Custom Bubbles and Profiles.
Original 12/2: Historically, the RCS/Text message field takes up the right two-thirds of your screen and expands to hide the “plus,” gallery, and Magic Compose buttons as you enter more text. At the other end, you get emoji and voice memo shortcuts.
I don’t like it. I like the text box more to the right with the icons on the left. I don’t have this change yet and I’m not looking forward to to. Also, the voice recording button doesn’t work for me and if I tap it then the other buttons on the left like emoji and add picture stop working. It took me a while to figure out that’s why the other buttons weren’t working. I have to close and reopen the keyboard to fix it.
Google Messages is now switching to a left-aligned text field with an emoji button up first. You then get Magic Compose, gallery (which has a new icon), and the plus, which is now on the opposite end. The voice recorder, which is getting thoroughly revamped with Moods, is now its own separate button outside the pill.
As some have pointed out, it’s somewhat odd that the text field is aligned to the left when the messages you send continue to appear at the right.
Meanwhile, when you start typing, there’s a new UI that’s split into two lines. The text field is at the top, while a bar keeps all the shortcuts on the same strip. This makes for a slightly more complex/heavy interface that might take some time to adjust to.
Some users in the Google Messages beta are already seeing this text field redesign with the dedicated bar, but it is not yet widely rolled out, which is also the case with the other functionality Google announced last November 2023.
With Android 14, developers can build share sheets with app-specific actions, and Google Photos is now replacing its custom implementation with a native one.
When sharing an image in Google Photos, a “Sharing image” sheet slides up the screen. “Modify” in the top-right corner lets you select more images to share using a grid.
The first section shows a preview of the selected picture(s) with the pencil icon in the corner launching the Markup tool to quickly crop, add text, draw, and highlight. The carousel below it links to various Google Photos actions, which is what Android 14 makes possible: Create Link, Send in Photos, Add to album, and Create album.
Direct Share targets — which use more signals from apps to improve relevance — appear next, along with frequently used apps. Nearby Share might appear in the first position. Scrolling up takes you to the full grid.
We’re seeing this new share sheet rolled out with version 5.65 of Google Photos today on Android 14 Pixel phones. It’s not yet appearing on large-screen (Pixel Tablet) devices that we checked this afternoon. The share sheet will presumably remain unchanged on Android 13 and earlier.
This follows Chrome, which was a big holdout, also dropping its custom implementation for Android 14 in August.
Google Photos redesign with new Memories feed rolls out
Last August 2023, Google announced a redesign to Photos that revamps the Memories feature, tweaks the bottom bar, and makes other changes. It’s now seeing wider availability in the US.
This redesign starts by moving the “Google Photos” wordmark to the left, while the Print store, Sharing, and your account avatar are at the right.
Sharing in the bottom bar makes way for “Memories,” with Library next and Search being the final tab. (This will certainly disrupt muscle memory.) A similar reorganization is live on tablets, while the “Utilities” tab has been removed from the navigation rail.
The most significant change is the Memories feed with its scrapbook-like timeline — which is not particularly well-optimized for tablets, as padding is just applied to the left and right — that uses AI for automatic curation and organization. Google aims to let you “easily relive, customize and share your most memorable trips, celebrations and daily moments with your loved ones.”
Users can create memories, which are pseudo albums from an editing and sharing perspective, from a rather tiny FAB (floating action button) that only appears when you scroll down. Meanwhile, generative AI is used to offer “customized title suggestions.” “Help me title” slides up a sheet that lets you add a “hint” to guide the generation.
Google started rolling this out in mid-August, but the revamp is only now seeing wide availability with version 6.54. If it’s not yet live on your device, try using the “Force stop” option on Google Photos from App info. It does not appear to be live on iOS yet.
This Google Photos redesign and Memories feed is coming first to the US and is set for global availability in the “coming months.”
Google Photos gets updated upload UI on the web
A small tweak to the Google Photos website in recent days modernizes the interface for uploading images and videos.
Like before, you can start uploading by dragging files into the window, or by tapping “Upload” in the top-right corner and selecting “Computer” to get a system file picker. Google Drive (pre-Workspace logo) is also still listed, but that’s now joined by “Add from other places,” which can also be found in the mobile app:
Transfer from photo collections: Facebook, iCloud
Transfer from photography services: Pixieset, Pic-Time, image.canon
Digitize physical photos: Photomyne, Capture, CVS
Back up from your computer: Google Drive for desktop
Scan photos with your phone: PhotoScan
The more notable change today is to the bottom-left corner progress UI. When uploading, you’ll get an estimate of how much longer it will take with a blue “Stop” button to end the process. “Show more” will expand this UI to provide a list of what’s in the queue.
Once complete, you just get “Add to album” as the available action, with “Saved album” removed. Overall, the UI is smaller than before.
Meanwhile, the redesigned Google Photos app on Android and iOS has yet to widely launch.
Google Photos Locked Folder sync starts rolling out
Announced at the end of August 2023, the ability to sync the Google Photos Locked Folder across devices signed in to your Google Account is rolling out more widely.
As of this morning, we’re seeing a prompt to “Back up Locked Folder” at the top of Google Photos. (Try Force stop from App info if it doesn’t appear, but this is not fully launched yet.) That takes you to a screen that explains how “Backing up Locked Folder keeps your hidden photos & videos safe when you change devices or delete the app.”
You have the option to “Turn on backup” or “Do not back up,” which keeps the feature unchanged from today. The Locked Folder grid will show a cloud icon in the top-right corner. That menu will let you disable sync at any time.
After turning it on, everything will start uploading to the cloud. Locked Folder can be enabled on a per-device basis. In this case, it appears that previously synced photos will appear on a disabled device, but any additions won’t. A cloud icon appears in the bottom-right corner of image previews in those cases.
Meanwhile, “Locked Folder” appears in the photos.google.com sidebar just above “Trash.” To access, you will have to sign in to your account, including 2-Step Verification (2FA).
This is getting a wider rollout today — photos.google.com/lockedfolder — but it’s not yet fully available. We’re also now seeing Locked Folder with sync in Google Photos for iOS today. Meanwhile, the broader bottom bar redesign and AI-powered Memories is not yet seeing broad availability.
