The best Pixel features explained: There’s more to Pixels than you think!

By Justin Jones Last updated Oct 18, 2022

Best Pixel features explained! phones are known for having a simple and clean user interface, but that doesn’t mean that Google isn’t adding cool features to its Android phones.

In fact, there is a long list of features that can only be found on Pixel phones, at least without third-party apps or other workarounds. In this post, we’ll tell you all about the best Pixel-only features. Let’s dig right in.

Calling Features

Call Screen

Call Screen has become one of the best ways to block scammers, spammers, and robocalls from calling you. Google Assistant is used to answering calls from people you don’t know. The system will ask the person calling who they are and why they are calling. When you see the transcript of the answers, you can decide whether to hang up, answer, or send a suggested message.

best Pixel features explained phones have an Automatic Call Screen. A small number of other Android devices also let you manually screen calls. To use it, you have to be in a country that can. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the US are among these countries.

Check out our complete Call Screen guide to find out how to use this useful feature.

Hold For Me

When you call a business, don’t you hate having to wait on hold? I do, which is why I like the Pixel-only Hold For Me feature so much. It does what its name says it does. Google Assistant will wait for you while you take care of other things. When the representative is ready to talk to you, you’ll be told.

The option will show up when you’re on a call with a device that can use it. Hold For Me is currently available in the US, Australia, and Canada on Pixel 3 and newer devices.

Direct My Call

Even worse than waiting on hold can be having to deal with an automated system. With Direct My Call on its Pixel phone’s best Pixel features explained, Google is trying to make things easier. Direct My Call will show a picture of what the automated system is saying and what menu choices are available. Then, you can skip the annoying recorded voices and use touch options to move through the automated system. People can also choose to share their call data with Google, which will help the system improve for future users.

Direct My Call works with Pixel phones made after the Pixel 3a. It will only work with the most recent version of the Phone app. Also, you can only get it in the US and only in English.

Wait Times

Wait Times is a much simpler tool that only gives you an idea of how long you’ll be put on hold when you call someone. This will help other users figure out roughly how long they will have to wait.

For this feature to work, you need a Pixel 3a or newer device and the most recent version of the Phone app. Also, you can only get it in the US and only in English.

Voice message transcriptions

Google Voice has been able to transcribe voicemails for a while, but the official Messaging app didn’t get this feature until the Pixel 7 series. If you have a Pixel 7, any voicemail you get will be automatically typed up by Messages.

Camera and photo features

Astrophotography photos and timelapses

Astrophotography is available on Pixel 3 and newer phones, and it’s kind of like HDR on steroids. The camera will take several pictures over the course of about 15 seconds. It will then put them all together and use computational photography to show you a night sky full of stars, which seemed impossible to capture on a phone.

best Pixel features explained! This feature is turned on by default, and it will work whenever the phone is in Night Sight mode and finds a dark sky while it is still. When the Pixel camera is set to Astrophotography mode, it will also save a timelapse.

Motion mode

Most phones try to take pictures that are as still as possible. We try to avoid motion blur and other things that show movement, but they aren’t always bad. In fact, a little bit of motion blur can be good because it shows action and movement and can often create very interesting effects. On a dark road, we’ve all seen cars’ cool light trails.

Action blur or long exposure effects can be made with motion mode. Find the mode right on the scrolling part of the camera app, and choose between Action Pan and Long Exposure. For this feature to work, you’ll need a Pixel 6 series device or a newer one.

Top Shot

Top Shot has been around since the Pixel 3 series, but it hasn’t really spread outside of the Pixel lineup. Before and after you press the shutter button, this feature takes up to 90 pictures and looks at them. Best Pixel features explained Google will show you better photos if you don’t have the fastest finger in the west and miss the right moment.

Face Unblur and Photo Unblur

With the latest Pixel devices, especially since Google’s Tensor chipsets came out, things are getting a lot smarter. These are made to improve artificial intelligence and computational photography, and they work very well.

Face Unblur will make faces look better in terms of sharpness, detail, and noise. The camera will figure out if there is likely to be motion blur, which usually happens in dark or fast-moving places. Like HDR, the camera will take several pictures, stitch them together, and then use machine learning to improve the quality of images of faces.

Face Unblur was introduced with the Pixel 6 series, but the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro took it to the next level. Photo Unblur can now be used on newer phones to fix the whole picture, not just the faces. Google Photos can also be used to improve any photo on Pixel 7 series phones. Even ones were taken with phones that aren’t Pixel!

We have a full guide on how to use Face Unblur and Photo Unblur. Check it out to find out everything about these two things.

Magic Eraser

Magic Eraser uses Google’s Tensor technology to get rid of things that don’t belong in an image. When editing an image on Google Photos, it’s easy to get to. Just click on Tools and then Magic Eraser. You can select things by drawing a circle around them, and the system will try to find the best way to replace them based on what’s around them.

Magic Eraser works with Google devices that are Pixel 6 or newer and the Google Photos app’s best Pixel features explained.

Launcher features

Select images and text from the Overview screen

This feature is often overlooked, but once you know it’s there, it’s very useful. If your phone has Android 11 or later, you can use Smart Selection to highlight text and images in the Overview screen and interact with them (app switcher). You can search for content, copy it, download it, and share it. To start interacting, just open the Overview screen and long-press on any image or text.

This feature is supposed to work on phones that aren’t made by Google, but it doesn’t always do so. It depends more on luck than anything else. Because of this, we still think of it as mostly a Pixel feature.

At A Glance

Even though the At A Glance widget is not unique to Pixel devices, it works best with them. This is because At A Glance is built into the Pixel Launcher, and Pixel phones are often the first to get new features.

At A Glance is an interactive widget that changes based on the most important information. Most of the time, it shows the weather, but it can also show music, a smart home calendar, fitness information, and other things.

Universal search

With Android 12, Google’s Pixel Launcher got a very cool update. Now that the search bar is universal, you can use it to look for anything that the device can access. This includes, among other things, apps, contacts, settings, content, and the web.

App Suggestions

Having a set of apps organized in the user interface (UI) is helpful, but life isn’t that simple. Some apps can only be used at certain times, in certain places, or in certain situations. This is why App Suggestions were added to the Pixel Launcher. These can be shown at the bottom of the home screen or at the top of the list of apps. The apps shown in these sections will switch and change on their own.

Quick Tap

This is probably one of the coolest new features for Pixel devices in recent years. With Quick Tap, the back of a Pixel phone can be used. You can set up two taps on the back of a phone to do different things. You can change it so that it takes a screenshot, gives you access to your digital assistant, plays or pauses media, shows notifications, shows a list of recently used apps, or opens an app.

Other Pixel-only features

Google Recorder speaker labels

The Google Recorder app is great for people who want to record audio and get transcripts of conversations, but the app still has a long way to go. The latest improvements are a step in the right direction, and Pixel 7 series owners will be the first to get a very cool one. Google Recorder can tell who is talking and label them when it is recording a conversation. This will help people who have a Pixel 7 figure out who said what.

Google Assistant Quick Phrases

You have to say “Hey, Google” every time you want to use Google Assistant. I know I do. This is why we love the Quick Phrases feature on smartphones from the Pixel 6 series or later. With Quick Phrases, you can tell Google Assistant what you want to do without using the hot word. Go to Google app > Avatar > Settings > Google Assistant > Quick phrases to get to the settings.

Google Assistant voice typing

Anyone with a Pixel 6 or later can use this Pixel-only feature. People with Pixel phones that can do it can now say, “Hey, Google. Type.” You can now start telling the Assistant what you want it to type.

Extreme Battery Saver

Since the Pixel 3, all Pixel phones have had a mode called “Extreme Battery Saver.” Google used the Pixel 7 to show off its abilities, saying that it can extend the battery life to 72 hours.

When Extreme Battery Saver is turned on, what does it do? Several things inside the phone are changed. First of all, most apps will stop. The CPU will also slow down, the hotspot will turn off, the screen will turn off after 30 seconds, and scanning for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will stop.

Personal Safety app

Users can stay safe with the Personal Safety app. It can hold information about who to call in an emergency. When an accident happens, the app can contact emergency services. You can also use the SOS mode to record video, notify people, and call the police. It’s a great app made for Pixel phones, but there are rumors that it might come to other Android devices as well.

FAQs

What makes Google Pixel stand out?

In addition to these prioritized software updates, Pixel phones also get “Feature Drops,” which are small software updates that add new features without a full Android software update. The fact that these software updates come straight from Google is another benefit.

Which Google Pixel model is the best?

The best Pixel features explained: Google Pixel 7 Pro is the newest and best Pixel phone, and its camera is the best. Google Pixel 7 is one of the best small Android phones you should think about. Google Pixel 6 Pro: It’s still a great deal to buy Google’s old flagship.

Why do Google Pixel pictures look so good?

Pixel phones help you take the best pictures by using “optical flow” technology. This is when the camera takes a bunch of pictures and then combines them to get the best exposure in low light.