Every Google Pixel phone is getting 4 cool new upgrades: here's what they do

Four new features for every Pixel from the Google Pixel 3a to the Pixel 6 Pro

Google Pixel 6
(Image credit: Google)

While all eyes are on Apple for its Spring 2022 event, Google has just announced some sweet treats for Google Pixel Android phone owners. A selection of cool new features are rolling out for Pixels from the 3a to the 5a 5G from today, and they’ll be available for the Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro later this month.

The new features are all coming to the Google Pixel suite, and they include better visuals in Snapchat, improved accessibility and translation features and a new, fun feature for your messaging apps.

What’s coming to Pixel Suite in March 2022

The most interesting updates include Night Sight in Snapchat, which will deliver massively improved low-light performance to help you look your best even in the worst lighting conditions; live captions for calls, enabling you to see live captions of what the other speaker says and to respond using text that will be read aloud to the caller; LangID in Live Caption (Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro) to identify Spanish, Italian and French on videos and other media to translate automatically into other languages; and Custom Test Stickers to add some fun to your messaging apps, turning your words into vibrant images.

Other changes include more visits from At A Glance to show you more useful information including the battery life of your Pixel Buds and reminders to turn off your alarm if tomorrow's a holiday, and the new Pixel battery widget will show up-to-date info not just for your Pixel but for your Bluetooth-connected devices too. And there are some cool new wallpapers to mark International Women's Day.

In addition to these new features, Google is also rolling out existing features to more phones. Direct My Call and Wait Times will now be available for Pixel 3a and newer phones; Recorder can now transcribe in Italian and Spanish on Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro; and Assistant Quick phrases will be available in Spanish, Italian and French on Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.

Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series. When she’s not scribbling, she’s the singer in Glaswegian rock band HAVR (havrmusic.com).