In addition to delivering a fresh dose of Android 13 to Pixel smartphones, Google is also working to introduce a number of new features through its app on Android and Wear OS devices. These new updates will also work on devices running older versions of Android and WearOS, meaning your device doesn’t need to be updated to the latest version of Google’s operating system to take advantage of it. new features and functions. The company has updated core features like Nearby Sharing and its apps like Google Drive, Google Keep, as part of recently announced improvements.
Nearby Sharing is a useful tool for sharing files, photos, and more with your own device or those around you. But the process of sharing it did not go smoothly. Google is now making it a lot easier to share files with other devices you own. Android devices signed in to your Google account will now show up directly in the share menu reducing the need to search for your own device and making the transfer a lot faster. Furthermore, switching to a signed in device is automatically accepted and works even if the screen on a nearby device is off.
Google recently updated its Workspace apps for the better multitasking on tablet and large screen devices. The new tablet-oriented update will now bring redesigned widgets for Google Drive and Keep, now spread out to take advantage of the larger screen space available on tablets. Google’s Drive widget will also add one-touch access to Docs, Slides, and Sheets files, while Google Keep has a larger widget that works better with to-do lists, reminders, and Moreover.
The Gboard keyboard app has been updated with an ’emoji’ button that automatically adds emojis to typed text or a typed sentence with the click of a button. A similar rollout will take place over the next few weeks. This feature will currently be limited to English Gboard users only and is already available to users of the latest beta version of Gboard. Google has also added new Emoji Kitchen mashups available as stickers in Gboard.
Google’s Meet service on Android phones and tablets also features live sharing, where users can instantly co-watch YouTube videos or share live while playing classic games in groups. up to 100 people at a time. Meet also now includes the ability to pin multiple users, allowing users to focus on a few people in a group call.
The Audio Announcement feature has been around for a while and can be found inside the Announcement and Live Captioning menus. It can alert hard-of-hearing users to important household sounds like fire alarms, door knocks, and even running water, and push alerts to your Android phone or watch when they happen. . With the new update, users can now add custom sounds to their alert library, so they can be alerted to the same notification. Google has also added audio descriptions on Google TV for people who are blind or have low vision, narrating live visual information as it happens.
Meanwhile, the new Keep tile will let users read notes or checklists directly from their Wear OS-enabled smartwatch. The new update will even allow users to manage notes and lists made across devices without the need for their tablet or smartphone. Another update coming to Wear OS smartwatches is a Bitmoji watch face that can change expressions depending on the time of day. Users will have to design their personal avatar on Snapchat, Bitmoji.com or the Bitmoji mobile app. Bitmoji watch faces can then be set to push similar expressions onto Wear OS watch faces.
