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We talked to the guy whose Pixel saved him from hours of suffering in an overturned vehicle
Car crash detection to the rescue
Google bundles a lot of clever software features with its Pixel phones, including Call Screen, Adaptive Sound, and car crash detection. One Missouri man is particularly thankful for that last feature. Late last year, Chuck Walker found himself injured and trapped in an overturned Bobcat loader. According to the story he shared on Reddit this week, his Pixel 4 XL managed to detect the accident and ring emergency services, thus saving him from a very lengthy and unpleasant stay.
Hands-on: The latest Pixel Feature Drop makes old Pixels feel new again
Ryne was wrong—turns out we can count the features after all
Google announced a new set of "Pixel Drop" features yesterday, adding a long list of capabilities to its existing devices. Well, sort of. As usual, Google's definition of what counts as a "new" feature is suspect. Many of the features in this latest update have been available on newer members of the Pixel family, and others are just tweaks to the previous functionality. Let's dissect this update and see what's new and what's worth getting excited about.
Google's AirDrop-like Nearby Share feature for Android is now officially rolling out. Marking the successful end of a test that started back in June, the long-awaited Android Beam successor is landing today on Google's Pixels and select Samsung phones, and it should be coming to all phones running Android 6.0 and later in the coming weeks. Chromebook support is also planned "in the coming months."
You know what time it is—that's right, it's time for Pixel patches. After a rough end to 2019, Google's Pixel team has now managed to get the first two patches of 2020 out the door on time. All Pixel phones aside from the first-gen devices now have February 2020 patches available on the Google dev pages.
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So, you're looking to try the latest Android Q builds on your Pixel phone? Well, your options are a bit limited at the moment—Google's Android Q system image and OTA file downloads are all broken. That leaves you with the OTA program only.
In what is likely to be the biggest low-key Android news today, Google seems to have silently flipped the switch (again) when it comes to the "check for update" button on Pixels. On every Pixel device we've tested here at Android Police, tapping the button in the Settings app is successfully pulling down the recent January update.
During the course of the big Google hardware event on October 9th we heard about a number of new features, most relating to the three main products being unveiled — Pixel 3, Pixel Slate, and Home Hub. As the dust has mostly settled, Google thought it might be a good time to run us through some of the new features coming to Assistant on Pixel phones, new and old.
The Google app and its feed, formerly Google Now, have been through a plethora of changes recently, and they could be about to see another redesign alongside the launch of the new Pixel phones. The whole interface looks like it's going to be tweaked, with more rounded corners on cards and new menu navigation.
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- It turns out that there were a few things broken in the first release for the Pixels. If you were having any trouble with your Magisk modules, the newly-released 14.2 should fix all of that. You can upgrade easily via the Magisk Manager app, which should prompt you on launch. Or you can download the latest version in the Zip package at this thread.
Hot off his recent vacation, Magisk developer topjohnwu has released a beta version of Magisk (v14.1) that works with the Pixel phones. We've even installed it on one of our own Pixel XLs and, well, it works. This is probably one of the oldest requests users have had for Magisk, and now it's here. Best of all, it works without a custom recovery, and (allegedly) survives OTA.
Have you ever wondered why the blacks on your Samsung phone look so, well, black? Ask your nearest videophile, and he or she will tell you that it's because AMOLED screens emit no light from pixels when they're assigned to draw the "black" color. It's black because the pixel is almost literally turned off. By the same token, an AMOLED pixel displaying black will also draw almost no electrical power. So AMOLED phones with black wallpapers or black-themed apps can, at least theoretically, boost their battery life significantly.
Inspired by the popular Flash-based puzzler Coign of Vantage by Bobblebrook (which has also been available as an iOS game for some time), Noodlecake has released their latest creation to the Play Store – Pixel Twist.