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How to use Android 12's Game Mode on Pixel 6
Game Mode is a great way to improve your gaming experience — if you have a new Pixel phone
Android 12 introduced the Game Dashboard on Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, a nifty feature that provides quick access to useful tools during gameplay. Using this tool, users can take screenshots, check their FPS, turn on Do Not Disturb, start recording, and stream to YouTube – all without interrupting gameplay. Beyond these tools, Android 12 brings with it Game Mode, a tool that optimizes the gaming experience. Here's how to use Game Mode on Android 12.
Android 12 Beta 3 lands today with the scrolling screenshots we've been waiting years for
Get ready for your screenshot gallery to start looking like a collection of CVS receipts
Android 12 Beta 3 lands today, and chief among the changes Google has announced with this latest release is one we have been waiting actual, literal years for. In 2019, Google called it "infeasible," but a single question from the audience at Google I/O overruled that decision. Hidden signs of it appeared in Android 11 before Google pushed back development. It was spotted again in an early Android 12 preview. And now, on Wednesday, July 14th, Google has made one of stock Android's longest-requested features a reality. We got scrolling screenshots, guys.
Android 12 is getting a game dashboard — here’s what we know about it
Official details are still sparse, but we've got a pretty good idea already
There are loads of evidence that Google is working on a game mode for Android 12, and although the company hasn't fully enabled it in the beta just yet, it's now all but official. During its Google for Games Developer Summit, the company revealed that its new game mode is called "game dashboard." It's coming to "select devices" and will have a handful of neat features in tow.
From the evidence we could gather, Google has been working on adding a lot more gaming features to its Pixel phones. While we've already seen first UI experiments for a game mode, we almost forgot about another intriguing feature that was first rumored a long time ago — an option that lets you start playing games as they're still being downloaded from the Play Store. Google announced during its Google for Games Developer Summit that it would bring just that feature to Android 12.
Android 12's game mode shows its face in Beta 1, but you still can't use it
It might be exclusive to Pixels
Gaming phones have been a thing for a while — check out the ROG Phone 5 for the best example of what they can do — but Google hasn't really contributed in this area up to now. However, with Android 12, it's shipping a gaming mode that should improve the experience on non-gaming phones.
Android 12's hidden 'game dashboard' just got some new features, but you still can't use it
DP3 picks up floating toggles and game optimization settings
Pixels on Android 12 look set to pick up a game-oriented dashboard, similar to what other Android phones offer. The feature — alternately called a "Game Mode" or "game dashboard" — leaked prior to Android 12's previews and was spotted semi-working but hidden later in development. In the latest DP3, it looks like it's still "hidden," but it has picked up some new features, including a "game optimization" setting to adjust performance level. The existing toggles in the menu can be moved to a floating overlay, and the FPS counter works separately from the display's refresh rate.
Steam for Chromebooks could be getting closer to release based on new changes
A new "game mode" hints at larger changes
We exclusively reported that Google is working on bringing official Steam support to Chromebooks back in 2020. Parallel to developing a new Linux container better suited for games, the company is now additionally experimenting with a new "Game Mode" that could bring some further performance to the upcoming Linux container.
Here's our first look at the gaming features coming to Pixels with Android 12
The new 'Game dashboard' still has some way to go
The latest entries to the Pixel line are not really about blazing-fast performance, and by passing on the top-tier chipset in favor of a Snapdragon 765G for the flagship Pixel 5, Google made that pretty evident. This doesn't mean the company is completely disregarding smartphone gaming, though. The Android 12 developer preview 2 has visual proof of a "game dashboard" we had previously heard about.
While the first Android 12 developer preview may not carry too many new features compared to its predecessor on the surface, there is a ton of stuff hidden behind system flags, including a notification shade makeover, wallpaper-based themes, and an iPhone-style one-handed mode. But gamers are also in for a treat: The developer preview appears to lay the foundation for an in-game toolbar, as reported by XDA.
Android 12 could get a Game Mode and an option to reduce bright colors
Android manufacturers called, they want their custom Game Modes back
XDA is on a roll, detailing a whole slew of features that might come to Android 12, supposedly codenamed Snow Cone. The latest code the publication dug up points at a Google-made "Game Mode" and an accessibility option allowing the visually impaired to reduce bright colors.