The September 2023 Android Feature Drop is here! The Android Feature Drop is a roundup of new features in Google apps. The latest drop brings an updated At a Glance widget, new Android Auto apps, and improvements to Lookout, Wallet, and Routines. Here's a 🧵 about what's new:

Because this ALWAYS causes confusion, no, this is NOT the same thing as the Pixel Feature Drop. The Pixel Feature Drop is for new Pixel-exclusive features, while the Android Feature Drop is for new features in Google apps that are available to all Android devices.

1) The Google App's At a Glance widget is getting a visual revamp and new features. The widget will surface helpful information like weather alerts, travel updates, and event reminders. (Note: this is not the same At a Glance widget found on Pixel devices.)

2) With image Q&A, now out of closed beta, the Lookout app can automatically generate descriptions from images that have low quality captions or that don't have alt text at all. Users can then use their voice or type to ask questions about the image.

Lookout also now supports 11 new languages, including Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, bringing the total number of supported languages to 34.

3) Google Wallet now supports Pass photo import, letting you digitize any pass that has a barcode or QR code. You can, for example, upload an image of your gym or library card to store a digital version of it in Google Wallet.

4) Apps for Zoom and Webex by Cisco are coming to Android Auto, letting you join conference calls by audio and browse your meeting schedules right from your car display.

5) You can now get Assistant to automatically read out your activity and sleep data (from Fitbit or Google Fit) through a new action in personal Routines. For example, you can add the "get wellness info" action to the "Hey Google, good morning" routine.

Google is overhauling Android's logo and iconic robot mascot! The new visuals "draw inspiration from Material design to complement the Google brand palette, as well as be adaptable." The updated visuals will "appear on Android devices and in more places starting this year."

What do you think of the new logo and robot design?

Pixel 8 Pro from all angles and in all colors!

For a short period of time Google made the Pixel 8 Pro available for preview on its new Pixel Simulator service, where you can see the company's devices from all sides. Dylan Roussel was the first to discover this.

Naturally, the company quickly shut the shop, but the internet remembers everything. This post is accompanied by images of the device in three different colors: Sky (bluish), Porcelain (beige) and Licorice (gray). These renders confirm the presence of a temperature sensor and a SIM card tray, rumors about the absence of which were rumored earlier.

There is also a fun video based on this simulator made by Brandon Lee.

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Shorts are coming to the Google Play app store.

The company is launching a new pilot series of videos, "The Play Report," in which gaming and lifestyle experts, creators and Googlers talk about their favorite apps and games on Google Play.

This pilot will be available to select Play users in the U.S. at the top of the Play Store homepage. The Play Report will also be available on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. New episodes will be available over the next few weeks.

🔗 Google Blog

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Pixel 8 and 8 Pro design comparison sneak peak, as well as a teaser of the Google Pixel Watch 2!

Shortly after the event was announced, Google posed a video showing the Pixel 8 in "Rose" pink color with a matte finish on the metal rails and camera bar and the Porcelain Pixel 8 Pro.

The Google Store's website has also been updated, where we can observe both phone models and the Pixel Watch 2. Notably, the minimum Android version to work with the watch has been upgraded from 8.0 to 9.0.

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Is this our first look at the new remote for an upcoming Chromecast with Google TV refresh?

I found a video showcasing the new remote in the latest Android TV 14 beta.

The video shows an outline of a remote that bears resemblance to the current CCwGT remote, except that it has four large round buttons on the left, two large round buttons and a third large oblong button on the right, and a new⭐️button.

Attached to this post is a still image from the video. And for comparison, I also attached a photo of the current remote for a Chromecast with Google TV (HD).

If you're wondering what that new⭐️ button might be for, I previously discovered that Android TV 14 will add "magic button" customization settings that will let you choose whether pressing the button will "open a favorite app" or "view and switch inputs for TV or other devices".

Google hasn't confirmed that a new Chromecast is in the works, but 9to5Google reported back in January, based on evidence seen within the Google Home app, that a new device was in the works.