The HiLight capability of Pixel 11 Pro phones was launched with only two functions: it illuminates when you receive a call from one of your favorite contacts or when you interact with Gemini. Google, however, promised that it will keep adding new features to it.
Shenaz Zack, Senior Director of Product Management at Pixel, recently posted a video on X confirming that the Pixel 11 Pro HiLight feature is also compatible with WhatsApp messages. Notably, WhatsApp calls have been supported by this feature from day one. The new addition is that it will now function with WhatsApp messages as well.
HiLight already worked with WhatsApp calls and now, it works with WhatsApp messages, too, doing the heavy lifting so my favorites get the VIP attention
There's reportedly no separate control to manage WhatsApp messages with HiLight. Presumably, if your Contacts and WhatsApp are connected, and you receive a message on WhatsApp from one of your favorite contacts, the HiLight feature will illuminate. And obviously, it will happen when the phone is placed face down.
Poll
2 Votes
Has your opinion of the Pixel HiLight changed after it received WhatsApp messages support?
A lot of improvement can still be made
Despite Google heavily marketing the Pixel 11 Pro phones' HiLight feature, it is apparently criticized by many Google fans for its limited functionality. Users believe that the Big G launched it half-baked. In fact, when I asked you guys about your thoughts on this feature in one of our recent polls, almost 62% of voters voted for the option that said, "It's simply a useless gimmick."
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Poll result about Pixel 11 HiLight feature. | Image by PhoneArena
Notably, the above reports are from the time when HiLight used to function in only two scenarios. Now that it turns on in four different situations (calls from favorite contacts, Gemini interaction, Google Messages, and WhatsApp messages), I believe some users who used to hate it might actually find it useful. But that surely doesn't mean that the tech giant should stop improving it.
It would be a lot better if it functions with more third-party applications like Telegram, Snapchat, Instagram, and more. Because let's be practical, most users these days use multiple messaging apps on their device. I heavily rely on Instagram, so the current expansion to WhatsApp messages is of really no use to me.
Let's hope Google expands Pixel 11 Pro HiLight to more apps. Until then, you can use a third-party service called HiLight Studio, which works with most of the apps that you might have installed on your Pixel phone.
Aman Kumar is a news writer at PhoneArena covering Google Pixel phones, Android features, AI-powered smartphone tools, and mobile tech news. Before joining PhoneArena, he spent over five years writing about consumer technology for publications like MakeUseOf, How-To Geek, and Guiding Tech. His current daily drivers are the Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, while his red iPhone SE (2nd gen) remains a personal favorite. Aman also appreciates bold smartphone experiments and still considers the Nokia N-Gage one of the industry’s most iconic designs.
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