Google Pixel users just got another great free upgrade

(Image credit: Google)

published 14 March 2023

Some of Google's best phones just got even better. A new update brings more features to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, and some new features are being made available to older Pixels too. Not only that, but there's an update for the Pixel Watch too.

The full details are online at the Google blog. I think the most exciting feature here is Night Sight, which is designed to help you take better flash-free photos in low light contentions. The update means it operates much more quickly in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, which can make the difference between catching the perfect shot and not. According to Google the speed boost is down to "improved algorithms" that squeeze more performance out of the Pixels' Tensor processor.

Google has also expanded the availability of its superb Magic Eraser to all Pixel phones, enabling you to remove photobombers and other unwanted artefacts from your pics. That started off as a Pixel 6 exclusive, so it's nice to see it expand to so many devices.

More features for more Pixels

In addition to the improved photography on the 6 and 6 Pro, Google is now putting its Health Connect app on every Pixel and expanding its Direct My Call+ feature to older Pixel phones. This feature is designed to help you navigate businesses' call menus more quickly, saving you time when your call is important to the company but not so important they want to put you through in a hurry. This feature is now available for all Pixel phones going back to the Pixel 4a.

Google has also confirmed the arrival of Apple Watch-style fall detection, which can identify when you've taken a hard fall and call the emergency services to get help. There will also be new sound and display settings to make your Wear OS 3+ watch more customisable.

Google's doing a great job of keeping its Pixels up to date, which of course helps persuade people to choose Pixels as their next phone when they're considering which of the best Android phones to get. For Google it's marketing; for you, it's a free upgrade. Isn't it great when everybody wins?

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Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).