Android phones continue to evolve both in software and hardware. While manufacturers such as Samsung and Qualcomm largely develop their hardware, Google is responsible for the development of the software. Lastly, the company brings several new features for Android phones and Wear OS smartwatches. These features, which are expected to be available in a short time, will bring many innovations to the Android interface we love.
New Android features on the way
- Add holiday cheer to your photos and messages
Google Photos recently brought styles to collage editor so you can create shareable collages of your favorite snaps to share with friends and family. Lastly, the company added two new artists — Australian husband-and-wife visual duo DABSMYLA and renowned watercolor artist Yao Cheng Design. Just pick your photos, select your design and rearrange the layout with simple drag-and-drop controls.
- Emoji Kitchen also has new emojis
Emoji Kitchen also has new emoji you can mash up into creative sticker combos via Gboard. Add some extra 💙 holiday ⛄️flair ❄️to your messages with compatible emoji.
- New reading mode on Android
Catch up on your favorite content, your way. The new Reading mode on Android creates an accessible reading experience that can be helpful for people who are blind, low vision or dyslexic. Once installed to your settings, it adds customizable display options — including contrast, font type and size — and a text-to-speech function with speed control.
You can also easily access content with YouTube’s new Home screen Search widget. With a quick tap from your Home screen, you can dive right into your library of videos, Shorts or subscriptions.
- Cast videos directly from the Google TV
Sometimes it’s easier to look for something to watch on your phone than on your TV. The Google TV app already makes it easy to use your phone to discover movies and shows from across your streaming services. And starting next week, you can cast directly from the Google TV app to your compatible TV with a single tap. You can keep browsing other options while you’re watching and use your device as a remote control, too.
- Digital Car Key sharing
With digital car key, you can lock, unlock and turn on a compatible car using just your phone. And now, you can share your compatible digital car key with friends and family across Pixel and iPhones (coming soon to select phones with Android versions 12 and up). You can view and change who has access to your car in your phone’s digital wallet app.
- New Wear OS features
As we use our smartwatches to get more done, Wear OS tiles make it easy to see important information at a glance. You can already use the Google Maps tile to start navigating to your home or office from anywhere. And now, Google is adding new tiles to help you get more things done from your watch. Like getting in touch with your favorite contacts and viewing sunrise and sunset times to plan your day.
The company also updated the Google Keep app on Wear OS so your notes and to-dos written on your phone will look just as good on your watch. View labels and collaborators to stay organized. Custom backgrounds, photos and drawings make it easy to see what’s important to you, whether you’re checking your notes on your phone or your watch.
Morever, over the next week you can use Google Assistant to have the the adidas Running app track your physical activity (up to 30 different types of exercise). Say, “Hey Google, start a run with adidas Running” and the app will open and start tracking your speed, distance, and heart rate on your smartwatch.
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