The latest Pixel feature drop is here with Google rolling updates across its family of smartphones and wearables. If you’re a Pixel 9 owner in the US, you’ll soon have access to a new version of Pixel Studio capable of creating stickers and images of people. As a refresher, Pixel Studio is an AI image app that is exclusive to Pixel devices. “Just type a description of a person or scene you’d like to see, or choose the style you want, like ‘video game’ or ‘3D cartoon,'” Google says of the new feature. The approach Google taking here is similar to the one Apple currently employs with Image Playground. Photorealistic images are off the table so that you can’t use Pixel Studio to confuse your friends and family.
Beyond Pixel Studio, Google is bringing other AI features to the Pixel family in the US and beyond. Most notably, the company’s live scam protection, which Google brought to testers last fall, is expanding to more devices, with additional functionality for those with Pixel 9 handsets in the US.
If you own a Pixel 9, it will start screening English calls to protect you from scams. On the Pixel 6 and newer, Google is expanding the availability of scam text detection, with the feature rolling out to phones in the US, Canada and United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Pixel 9 and Pixel 8 Pro users in Japan can look forward to a large portion of the brand’s AI suite, including Pixel Screenshots and Pixel Studio, rolling out to their devices. Similarly, Google is making many of those same features available to Pixel 9 users in Germany. If AI features aren’t your thing, this month’s Pixel drop won’t leave you disappointed. To start, Google is updating its Find My Device app to allow users to send and receive the location of friends and family, “so you can rest easy knowing where they are, or that they got where they were going safely.” This is rolling out to recent Pixel devices, and more broadly the wider Android ecosystem. One other nifty new feature allows Pixel 9 owners to connect their phone to a recent GoPro camera or another Pixel phone to stream video from multiple angles.
Google hasn’t forgotten about Pixel Watch users. If you’re running the latest model, the company has obtained clearance from the FDA to offer its Loss of Pulse Detection feature. “This first-of-its-kind feature can detect when you’ve experienced a loss of pulse,” Google explains. A loss of pulse can occur due to a cardiac arrest, a respiratory or circulatory failure, overdose or poisoning. Whatever the case, the Pixel Watch 3 will automatically call emergency services if the user is unresponsive.
Google is also rolling out on-device menstrual tracking to the Pixel Watch 3, and the entire Watch family will start tracking steps with greater precision and accuracy. This is due to the fact Google has made the underlying algorithm better at recognizing when you deviate from your usual walking pattern to go do something like push a shopping cart or wheelchair. “The improved algorithm ensures that not only are your steps accurately counted toward your daily goal, but that you’ll get reliable insights into your daily activities.”
The March Pixel drop is starting to roll out today. As usual, it may take a few days before the update is available to download on your device.
