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Google fans rave ‘huge for me’ over list of upgrades now out on millions of Android phones – find them in seconds
There's a very useful plug-in trick too
GOOGLE has revealed a selection of free updates beaming down to your Android phone.
They add new artificial intelligence features, and even help you identify spam phone calls.
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The upgrades are coming specifically to Google's Pixel devices.
These are Google's own-brand smartphones powered by Android.
PIXEL UPGRADES
First on the list is the introduction of Gemini Nano to Google's Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a.
Google explains, "Gemini Nano is Google’s most efficient AI model built for on-device tasks.
"And starting today, you can use Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a to access Gemini Nano as a developer option. You can enable developer options in your Pixel’s settings."
Secondly, the Summarize feature in Google' s Recorder app is now powered by Gemini on Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a, allowing it to serve up "more detailed and downloadable summaries."
"It’s able to detect and include the names of speakers so conversational transcripts are improved," Google said.
"And with the ability to export transcripts into text files or Google Docs, keeping track of things like interviews and class lectures is made easy."
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You can now display content on bigger screens with Pixel 8a, Pixel 8, and Pixel 8 Pro.
Google reveals new ‘911 texting’ feature that lets you share your exact location and videos with emergency services
Just plug into a monitor via USB-C.
Find My Device will now let you locate your phone if it's switched off – even if the battery is dead.
There's a new Pixel camera feature that automatically identifies "the best moment from your photo" in HDR+ so it's simpler to get a photo of you in focus and smiling.
If you don't recognize a phone number, you can now reverse-search it directly from your call log.
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And finally, it's now possible to manually choose the camera lens you want to use while taking photos.
Google says this gives you "more control" for getting the perfect shot.
FAN FAVORITES
Fans reacted very positively to the news.
In fact, the blog post earned hundreds of upvotes on the official Android subreddit.
One Pixel phone owner wrote, "Lens selection is huge for me.
"Getting the telephoto to trigger is just so finicky sometimes, even when there's enough light.
"Also, number look-up will save me a few taps. Looking forward to that, as well."
Google Pixel battery tips – the official guide
Here's the official Google advice for Pixel owners on how to make your battery charge go further...
Tip 1: Let the phone close apps you’re not using.
Tip 2: Keep your phone and apps up to date. Applications become more battery efficient with each new iteration, addressing errors and glitches that use unnecessary power.
Tip 3: Turn down the brightness. Save your eyes by turning down the brightness of your phone, while also saving the battery. You can also set your phone to Dark theme, which turns your background to black. It uses less power and relieves some of the strain on your eyes, too.
Tip 4: Know which apps and activities are power hungry. Pixel users should be aware of what activities drain their batteries most. Video calls and gaming are at the top of the list. Users should also shut down apps they have opened but aren’t using.
Another replied, "YES! We recently got a small aquarium.
"And getting a macro shot, the camera software CONSTANTLY switches between a good lens and a less decent lens for the given closeup.
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"And somehow invariably picks the worse lens when I actually take the photo."
"I feel like we just got a feature drop or was that something else. But honestly solid stuff. Love the manual lens feature," another said.
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