Google unveils 10 new Android features
We may earn a commission if you make a purchase from the links on this page.
Google has gotten into the holiday giving spirit and, besides blessing us with Pixel 6 deals over the Black Friday weekend, today announced it is also giving away new Android features.
That's right, Google used the very first day of the Christmas month to unveil not one or two, but ten new abilities for your trusty Android phone. Half of those go to upgrade the ever-increasing in popularity Android Auto that is supported by most modern cars now, but there's much more. Here's a list.
New Android and Android Auto features
- YouTube Music, Google Play Books, and Google Photos People & Pets widgets for your home screen.
- Android 12 phones like Google Pixel 6 or Samsung Galaxy S21 can be used as BMW car keys.
- Family Bell notifications for household activities.
- Memories reel in Google Photos for every holiday or other festive occasions.
- Auto-reset permissions for unused apps on most all phones, even those still on Android 6.0.
- Thousands of new Emoji Kitchen combinations for Google Gboard.
- Automatic Android Auto launch when the phone connects to your car.
- Always-on play button on your Android Auto home screen to launch favorite music.
- Faster voice-to-search button for finding music.
- Smart replies for Android Auto that let Assistant answer texts quickly with ready replies and custom messages.
Google said that the last two new Android features are "coming soon," but the rest are going out as we speak. If you want to try and cook personalized emojis with the new Emoji Kitchen combinations, you can head and grab Gboard beta right now, with the feature rolling out to your stable Gboard next week.
Popular stories
Latest News
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: