Google Pixel phones come with many exclusive features and settings that you will not find on other Android phones. If you have recently purchased a Pixel smartphone or use it rarely, you may not be familiar with some best Pixel features. To help you make the most of your Pixel phone, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best tips for Pixels phones that you should try for a better experience.
While Pixel phones are known for their cameras and designs, the software of the Google phones distinguishes them from other Android phones available on the market. Google usually releases updates for their phones every few months, meaning new features on Pixel phones arrive regularly. But the updates will only add new features and these tips will always be there.
Best Pixel Phone Tips For Better Experience
Even though the latest Google phones, such as the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, come with some notable features, like AI-powered tools and others, if you have an older Pixel phone, you need to wait for a few months to be able to get your hands on the upcoming feature drop. But don’t worry we have tips for every Pixel phones.
Whether you’re interested in knowing the latest features or just landed to this guide to see if you are missing one of the features, this guide will walk you through the best Pixel features you should try.
Flip Camera For Selfie
Apart from tapping the flip button on the camera layout to switch the camera mode for the selfie, you can also use a gesture to quickly flip the camera to the front from the rear camera mode and vice versa. This feature is available on all Pixel phones. Here’s how you can enable it:
Step 1: Navigate to Settings.
Step 2: Find and tap on System.
Step 3: Choose Gestures > Flip camera for selfie.
Step 4: Finally, enable the toggle for the option.
Once enabled, just double-twist your Pixel phone horizontally when on the camera app to flip the camera mode.
Now Playing
A cool feature for music lovers out there is Now Playing, which, once enabled, constantly listens for music within your surroundings and shows the name and artist of songs on your lock screen. Also, the feature is available for all Pixel phones. Warning! The feature consumes more battery.
To enable it, navigate to Settings > Display > Lock Screen > Now Playing > Enable the toggle for Identify songs playing nearby.
Live Captions
Live Captions is another best Pixel feature available for all the models, that automatically captions speech on your device. You can use it on media like videos, podcasts, phone calls, video calls, audio messages, and others.
You can activate it simply by clicking on the volume toggles and tapping the icon.
Circle to Search
After debuting in the Samsung Galaxy S24 Series, Circle to Search has arrived on the Pixel 8 Series and is now supported on the Google Pixel 7 Series with the March 2024 feature drop update. Using this feature, users can draw a circle around an object on the screen to search for it.
To use this feature on supported Pixel phones, press and hold the home button or the navigation bar at the bottom, then draw the circle. As soon as you draw circle or scribble, the results should appear instantly on the screen without closing the app.
Best Take
This is also an interesting feature on select Pixel Phones. The Google Pixel 8 series has a feature named Best Take, which, as the name suggests, takes the best group picture that you took.
Once you use it, the device will automatically identify similar photos and the faces available in them for swapping. You can choose from one of the many expressions of a person in the detected group photos.
Magic Editor
The Magic Editor is an experimental feature that uses AI to resize or move individual objects in a photo. You can easily use it by following these simple steps:
Step 1: Open the Google Photos app on a supported Pixel phone.
Step 2: Head over to the photo you want to edit and tap the Edit button. Make sure it’s uploaded to your Google account.
Step 3: Tap the photo icon with a star in the left corner to open Magic Editor.
Step 4: Now, click on any object in a photo to select it.
Step 5: Resize it by pinch-to-zoom, drag it to another area of the photo, or simply delete it.
Cinematic Wallpaper
Google Pixel 6 or newer pixels have a Cinematic Wallpaper feature, which allows users to take any image they already have and turn it into a 3D image. It works best if the photo focuses one or two people in it.
To use it, navigate to the Wallpaper & Style page. Choose an image from the gallery, tap on the three stars icon at the top-right corner, and then enable the toggle for Create cinematic wallpaper.
Summarize Website
Using this feature, your Pixel phone generates a summary of a webpage, so that you can quickly understand the content in it with the help of key points without spending much time. And it can even read aloud and translate webpages for you, so you can listen to them on the go.
To use the feature, launch Google Assistant when you are on a web page, click on Summarize, or just say Summarize this. Then, you will see a short overview of the content.
AI Wallpapers
Google introduced the concept of AI wallpaper at Google I/O 2023. On Pixel phones, you simply choose an artistic style for the theme and a prompt, and the device will then use Google’s text-to-image diffusion models to create several unique images that match your selection.
To make generative AI wallpapers on your Pixel phone, check out our dedicated guide to everything about the feature and availability.
Lock Screen Styles
With Android 14, Pixel owners can customize the lock screen. Users can choose from different clock styles and also assign a shortcut for both right and left hands from the available options, depending on their preference. Moreover, you can also do many customizations just for the lock screen on your Pixel phone. Just check out our guide to enhance your Pixel lock screen on Android 14.
AI Audio Eraser
Using this feature, you can erase unwanted audio, like fade and background noise, from a video with one click, right from your Pixel phone. To use this feature, just head over to a media file and tap Edit. From the bottom menu, tap Audio, then choose Audio Eraser, and make adjustments manually or automatically as per your convenience.
Extreme Battery Saver
Pixel phones have an Extreme Battery Saver feature, which comes as an added layer of battery efficiency.
Unlike the standard one, Extreme Battery Saver turns off most of your apps and completely pauses notifications from them, in addition to what the standard one does. To enable it, just head over to the Battery Saver page and then select it.
Measure Temperature
If you have the flagship Pixel 8 Pro that comes with a temperature sensor to measure the surface temperature of objects and even the skin right with your Pixel phone.
For those unaware, the Google Pixel 8 Pro has a temperature sensor located next to the camera on the back of the phone. Just open the Pixel Thermometer app, tap Object Temperature, select the material of the object that you want to measure, and then click Done. Now, position your Pixel phone within 5 cm of the object and measure.
So, these are the best features you should try if you have a Google Pixel phone. If one of the features listed above is not available for your device, it means that your device is not compatible with it. You can wait for some time, as Google may make your device compatible with the upcoming feature drop. If you have any questions related to the article, feel free to ask in the comments below.
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