Google has announced a list of new features for Android users that are being released to make your phone more useful. One of the most notable features is the Family Bell that can help you and your family stay on track with your daily schedule by receiving alerts on the phone as well as on home devices like smart speakers or displays. Another big update is coming to Google Photos where you’ll get new memories to look at with your loved ones. Google is also introducing a digital car key feature to let you use your Android phone as a car key.
in the list of new features He Google If you are planning to spend some time with your family, Family Bell is detailed via a blog post which you will find most useful. This allows you to send alerts with bells and notifications when you want to connect for a specific joint target, including not only your phone but your family members’ phones and home speakers and smart displays. It could be taking your family out for breakfast in the morning, watering a tree on a holiday, or going out for a family movie night.
Family Bell is coming to Android to let you set alerts and reminders for you and your family
photo credit: google
Family Bell can be edited, managed and customized from the device of your choice. Each member of your family can also set the bell on their own devices for individual goals.
Including Google Apps, in addition to Family Bell Google Play Books And Youtube Music Getting Widgets. Google Play Books is getting a new widget through which you can access your entire library of books and keep track of the progress of your audiobooks right from your home screen.
With the new YouTube Music widget, you can access playback controls and recently played tracks from your home screen to easily control and enjoy your favorite music.
A new Google Photos People & Pets widget is also rolling out next week so you can put a frame with your family photos on your home screen. You can select some faces and suitable frames to decorate your home screen with your loved ones.
google photos There is also a new Memories feature that aims to remind you of the memories you’ve spent with your family and friends. These memories will appear in your photo grid and display a curated selection of photos and videos from holidays such as New Year’s Eve or Halloween and milestones such as birthdays and graduations, Google said.
Google Photos is getting a new Memories feature to showcase precious moments in your Photos grid
photo credit: google
Users will also get controls to rename, personalize, correct and even remove memories from their photo grid to get a customized experience.
Google is also rolling out the Digital Car feature to let Android users lock, unlock, and even start a compatible car using their phone. It is initially rolling out in select countries Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, And Samsung Galaxy S21 for compatible bmw Cars.
In particular, apples introduced Features a similar digital car key to iPhone Last year users started rolling out for new iPhone models earlier this year. This too is limited to a few luxury cars at the moment.
With a digital car key, Google is updating android auto To set users to launch their compatible in-car system automatically when they are connected to an Android phone. This is quite useful because you don’t have to manually connect your phone to your Android Auto system when you’re driving outside.
Google is also bringing a smart reply option to Android Auto soon so you can reply to text messages google assistant While driving – to respond by simply tapping or creating a custom message. You can also listen to your favorite tracks with a single tap of the new Always-On Play button, available on your home screen when connected to your Android Auto system.
In the coming future, Google is also bringing the ability to let you use your voice to quickly find music in your media apps on Android Auto. This will be via a new search icon that will allow you to ask your favorite artist or song to play in your car.
Gboard Android is also getting an update with a feature called Emoji Kitchen where you can add emoji to stickers to express your feelings without typing text. You can celebrate the holidays in the western world by sharing your favorite emoji in a gift box or using the Furry Friends collection to spread the love of your dog with friends and family.
Gboard is getting Emoji Kitchen to let you combine emoji into stickers
photo credit: google
Google said it is currently rolling out the latest stickers to Gboard beta users via Emoji Kitchen, though all Gboard users will get them in the coming weeks.
The last major change that Google is bringing to Android users is the auto-reset permission. This will allow your device to automatically turn off runtime permissions for downloaded apps that you haven’t used in a while. Runtime permissions allow apps to access restricted data, including location and contact information, or to use the camera and microphone on your behalf.
Of course, you can turn permissions back on at any time by reopening the app or via the Settings menu.
Google said the new permissions auto-reset feature will expand support for “billion more devices with Google Play Services” running Android 6.0 or higher starting next month.
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