Summary
- Google is rolling out new features for both Pixel users (with the Android 16 update and June Pixel Feature Drop) and broader Android/Wear OS devices (via the quarterly Android Feature Bundle).
- Key enhancements in this Android Feature Bundle include customizable RCS group chat icons in Google Messages, AI-powered photo-editing tools in Google Photos (like Reimagine and Auto Frame), and device-specific shortcuts for Google Home Favorites across phones, Google TV, and Wear OS.
- Other notable updates include the ability to extend the duration of a Safety Check session in the Personal Safety app and a new tap-to-ride transit payment feature for Wear OS smartwatches.
Google’s coveted Android 16 update is now available in stable to Pixel users, with the June Pixel Feature Drop in tow. The Feature Drop introduces a new Pixel VIPs widget from the Contacts app, paired with live-view word search for the Magnifier app, AI-powered editing in Google Photos, expanded availability for Satellite SOS, and a lot more.
The feature-generosity, however, isn’t only limited to Pixel users. Google today also rolled out a fresh batch of features for broader Android and Wear OS devices as part of its quarterly Android Feature Bundle.
For reference, the last Android Feature Bundle (March) finally brought real-time scam detection to Google Messages, paired with live location sharing via Find My Device (now Find Hub), Shopping insights for Chrome, access to games like Farm Heroes Saga and Angry Birds 2 via Android Auto, and more.
This time around, Google, again, has enhancements for Google Messages, alongside solid updates for Google Home, Google Photos, Gboard, and more. We’ve spotted some of these updates in beta in the past, while others are entirely new.
Google Messages
Google is finally letting Android Google Messages users customize their RCS group chat icons.
First spotted all the way back in February, and then subsequently in May, the new feature should finally allow you to leave group icons that look like a smorgasbord of initials and participant profile pictures in the past. Custom profile photos for groups can be added when first creating the group, or via the pencil icon on an existing group’s info screen.
In addition to custom group icons, users will now also see a distinct ‘RCS’ label next to users in Google Messages’ New conversation/Start chat contact screen.
Google Photos
The Mountain View, California-based tech giant rolled out its new suite of AI-powered editing tools for Google Photos last month, although exclusively to Pixel 9 series users. Those tools are making their way out widely on Android, and should be available to most users “soon.”
Tools that Android users would be able to leverage via the Google Photos app include:
- Suggested actions: Find the right tools for your editing needs.
- Reimagine: Describe your desired changes and watch them come to life.
- Auto Frame: Artificially enlarge your photo’s canvas using generative AI.
Google Home
The Google Home app should now offer Android users device-specific shortcuts for their favorite smart home tech. For example, these favorites can be personalized for your smartphone, Wear OS wearable, and Google TV.
You can pin your security cameras to your Google TV, your kitchen speaker to your Android phone and your thermostat to your Wear OS smartwatch — whatever combination makes it easier to manage your home.
Favorites pinned to your smartphone will appear on the dedicated Favorites widget on your home screen, while devices pinned to your Google TV will appear on its Home Panel. Similarly, devices pinned to your watch will appear on its Google Home favorites tile, allowing you to quickly view and control your most-used smart home devices from your wrist.
Safety Check
Google’s Safety Check, which is a tool that lets you be prepared in case you’re in an emergency situation, lets your device automatically share your real-time location and critical information with your emergency contacts. It lets users set a check-time timer for their phone to confirm whether they’re safe or not — a feature that is especially useful to set up when you’re going somewhere unknown solo.
If you don’t respond to the Safety Check, your device automatically begins sharing your real-time location data with your trusted contacts.
Currently, when you’re setting up a new Safety Check instance, you’re asked to set a duration for it. 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 8 hours, and ‘other’ are the options you can choose from. Up until now, if the duration you initially set runs out, and you’re still out and about, you would have needed to set a new Safety Check instance. With Google’s update for the tool today, that is no longer necessary. “Now, if you decide to stop for a smoothie in the middle of your run, you can easily extend the check-in time with a tap of your phone or smartwatch — instead of creating a whole new Safety Check,” suggests the tech giant.
As seen in the short GIF above, users will be able to extend the duration of their Safety Check instance by tapping a new ‘Add time’ button on the tool’s main screen.
Wear OS
Wear OS users now finally have tap-to-ride transit functionality. First spotted in a Play Services beta all the way back in January, the feature will now let users simply tap their unlocked smartwatch on transit readers to pass through.
This is a much faster alternative to manually navigating to the Wallet app → locating the relevant transit pass → tapping your watch on the pass reader. This is similar to the feature’s implementation on Android phones.
The new Wear OS feature, alongside all other enhancements revealed as part of the new Android Feature Bundle, are rolling out now. They should be available to try out widely over the coming days.
