Pixel Feature Drop in December 2023: what changes on your Pixel

For me, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is one of the best smartphones of 2023. With the December update comes a Feature Drop that is a big one. Many of the new features also land on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7.

The new features at a glance

1. Video Boost. This mode was already advertised when the Pixel 8 Pro was introduced, and now it’s here. It uses AI to get more out of your videos, in color, exposure and contrast, even in dark environments. With Night Sight Video it improves recordings significantly. Night Sight in time-lapse, however, is only available on the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. I can already see a clear difference and want to test the mode in more scenarios.
2. Unblur for pet photos. Animals rarely hold still. Google now uses AI to sharpen photos of your furry friends. A real gain for me, because this way I don’t have to pester my Merlin with photo shoots for hours, he hates being photographed.
3. Portrait Light. In Google Photos, you can edit the light balance of portraits after the fact, for example remove harsh shadows or change the direction of the light. This also works on old photos you took with your Pixel.
4. Cleaning up scanned documents. Stains like a blob of tomato sauce on the restaurant receipt can be removed from the scan with the new AI feature “Clean up” in the camera.
5. Pixel as an external camera. You can use the Pixel as an external camera for video calls, if your laptop doesn’t have a good camera or you want a different angle. The Pixel has to be connected to the laptop with a cable for this. The quality isn’t outstanding, but in good lighting it’s more than enough for most people.
6. AI-powered summary with Gemini Nano. Gemini Nano, Google’s newest AI language model, is now on the Pixel. In the Recorder app, recordings were already transcribed before. Now the often painfully long texts can be summarized into bullet points. I’m thrilled by how well it works, but so far only in English.

Smart Reply in Germany too

The automatic replies, where the keyboard suggests AI-based answers to messages, including in apps like WhatsApp, are initially only enabled for the English-speaking world. I found out how you can get them in Germany too: set the language of the keyboard, that is Gboard, to US English. Then, funnily enough, you get German replies suggested.

Repair Mode

If you ever have to send your Pixel in for repair, you can switch on Repair Mode. Then only Google’s own apps and features are shown, but not their content. You don’t have to worry about your data and don’t have to reset the Pixel completely.

New for the Pixel Watch

• Unlocking: You can now unlock the Pixel with the Pixel Watch, like the iPhone with the Apple Watch. When you wear the watch, it unlocks the smartphone automatically, without a PIN or fingerprint.
• Do Not Disturb: The Pixel’s Do Not Disturb mode is now synced with the Pixel Watch. Before, I always forgot to silence the watch in the evening, got woken up by notifications, and forgot to turn off the silencing in the morning. Luckily, that’s a thing of the past. Better late than never.

Verdict

In my view, those were the most important new features of the Feature Drop from the December update. The camera features and the connection to the Pixel Watch in particular are useful in everyday life, while the AI summary initially only runs in English.