A cool Pixel-exclusive feature is now spilling to other smartphone brands beyond Google. The first OEM that gets it is OnePlus, but I suspect other brands could soon follow.
Remember Pause Point?
Pause Point will make you rethink opening a distracting app or game. | Image by Google
Pause Point was introduced at this year's Google I/O event in May, which is now almost half a year ago; maybe you need to get your memory refreshed (a lot has happened since May, I totally get it).
In essence, Pause Point can be set up to help you tone down your doomscrolling sessions. For example, Pause Point could "give you" ten seconds when you open Instagram—just enough time for you to decide on a second thought if you really want to expose yourself to another Reels attack instead of doing something away from your phone.
Also, you could set an alarm for your distracting apps—once it goes off, you'll know you've had enough AI slop for the day.
Pause Point was exclusive to Pixel 11 phones and several other Google-made handsets, but the latest reports state that the feature is now found on a OnePlus 13R unit running Color OS 17 beta.
How bad is your digital addiction?
Everybody has been there: you scroll for minutes, then hours. Some have learned to deal with it by going back to a "dumb" phone, but not everybody is ready to give up on the whole smartphone experience just to indulge in analog activities.
Recommended For You
That's why phone companies have recently been doubling down on digital well-being features like Pause Point.
Some folks who have mastered their doomscrolling impulses surely look down on such features, but hey, not everybody can resist the shiny rectangle in their pocket. Some need that extra helping hand.
It's helpful
Some people really like the Pause Point feature. In this Reddit thread, for example, people call it a game-changer.
It would be great if Google seeded the Pause Point feature to all modern mid-range and flagship Android devices.
Why are you buying a Pixel phone in 2026 or 2027?
4 Votes
The Pixel exclusiveness
Why would one buy a Google Pixel phone these days? It's not that these handsets are occupying the top spots in the raw power performance rankings. Not with Google's Tensor processors. For years now, MediaTek's Dimensity and Qualcomm's Snapdragons have been blowing Tensors out of the water.
Even though Pixel models have been struggling to get popular in terms of sales (even the foreign Samsung brand is doing far, far better than Google in the US), there's something about the Pixel phone.
Sure, they're expensive and can't match Chinese models in terms of battery life, but Pixels give you that clean Android experience and almost always come with outstanding camera setups. Not in terms of hardware; the Pixel's camera magic lies in its computational photography tricks and cool AI tricks. Also, that horizontal camera visor on their backs is something that you can't get out of your Galaxy, Xiaomi or iPhone.
Maybe the biggest reason for one to get a Pixel nowadays is to enjoy the Pixel-exclusive features that Google installs in its handsets. But often, as it is the case with Pause Point, these reach other brands several months after their debut.
Mint Mobile is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a special offer on its six-month subscription plans. For a limited time, you can get your preferred tier (6GB, 17GB, 23GB or unlimited) for just $10/mo. That saves you between 50% and 71% on the carrier's mobile plans, making it way easier to recommend.
Sebastian is one of PhoneArena’s senior opinionators. A veteran news writer with almost 20 years of experience in media and technology, he not only covers all the hot news about Galaxies and iPhones, but often provides hot takes on industry trends. He’s fascinated with camera-focused flagships from the likes of Oppo and Vivo, as well as foldable phones.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: