The Pixel 4 is receiving a slew of new features in Google’s second ‘feature drop’, updates that the company is pushing out to its phones in addition to the monthly security patches it promises. The Pixel 2, 3 and 3a will receive some, but not all, of the new features, while the original 2016 Pixel is no longer supported for updates of any kind.
Announced in a blog post, Google highlighted new pause and resume options for the radar controls exclusive to the Pixel 4. That phone also receives car crash detection for UK and Australian owners to add to the US support already live. The Pixel 4 can tell if you’ve been in a high impact collision, and will call the correct emergency number if you’re detected as unresponsive.
Google also said it was adding a wallet feature to every supported Pixel. A long press of the home button will bring up a card view of payment cards, boarding passes and more – much like Apple’s excellent Wallet app that Android has never been able to replicate.
New AR modes for Duo video calls are coming to Pixel 3 and 4 only, while dark theme scheduling will be an option on all supported devices in the feature drop scheme.
If you’ve got a 2017 Pixel 2 or 2 XL, then getting features like Live Caption (from 12 March) and the new Cards & Passes add on is pretty great value for your two and a half year old phone. But if Google sticks to its schedule then this time next year, the Pixel 2 won’t get updates anymore and you might have to think about upgrading to the Pixel 5.
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Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor
Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.