Google's first Pixel Feature Drop of 2024 brings new AI-powered features

Google has announced its first Pixel Feature Drop of 2024, which brings in new AI-powered features to make your smartphone more useful.

To begin with, the Pixel 8 Pro's new medical feature in the Thermometer app can now be used to get an accurate body temperature measurement. The results can be saved to your Fitbit profile. This feature will be available only on Pixel 8 Pro in the U.S.

Next up, the latest Pixel Feature Drop brings Circle to Search - a new way to search anything on your phone with a simple gesture, without the need to switch apps. Simply long press the Pixel home button or navigation bar and circle, highlight, scribble or tap what you see to get more information from Search.

In addition, with multisearch, the ability to search with text and images simultaneously, and its latest AI-powered upgrades, you can ask a more complex question about an image to more easily understand concepts, ideas or topics from helpful information that's pulled together from across the web.

Circle to Search will be available on Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro and other compatible non-Pixel devices on January 31.

Magic Compose, a feature that uses Google's generative AI technology to rewrite a drafted message in different styles, is coming to Pixel 6 and newer devices. This feature makes your messages more concise, professional or dramatic. This all happens on-device on Pixel 8 Pro, thanks to Gemini Nano, Google's most efficient model built for on-device tasks.

Another new feature included in this drop is Photomoji on Google Messages. It allows you to transform your favourite photos into reactions with the help of on-device Google AI. To respond with personal Photomoji:

• Select the photo
• Review the object you'd like to react with and hit send.
• You can save and reuse your creations

Quick Share, formerly Nearby Share, is rolling out to Android devices. It lets you share pictures, files and text quickly from your Pixel to billions of compatible devices across the Android, ChromeOS and Windows ecosystems. Quick Share is supported on Android GMS devices running Android 6.0 and up, Chromebooks running Chrome OS version 91+ and computers running a 64-bit version of Windows 10+.

Lastly, with this release, Google is expanding Audio Switch to Pixel Watch. You can switch your Pixel Buds Pro from your Pixel Watch to any number of Pixel 5a and newer phones or Pixel Tablet, and get helpful notifications about where your audio is switching to.