Earlier this week, we saw the Made by Google event take place in California. That was the brand's chance to showcase all of the latest and greatest they have to offer, from neat new hardware to brilliant software.
Headline new products included the Google Pixel 9 series, the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the Google Pixel Watch 3 and the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. Not a bad slew at all.
But in amongst the shiny new devices, the brand also unveiled a host of cool features. That includes some from its Gemini AI suite, and others were simply cool and baked into existing apps. These are five of my favourites, which you might have missed:
1. Add Me
When it comes to cameras, the Pixel range has long been one of the best in the business. Their hardware and software combination is one of the best of the market, and the resulting images are stunning – but also easy to capture.
Add Me is a new addition to that suite. The key functionality on offer allows users to take a photo, then add another person into the frame and capture another photo.
A combination of AI, augmented reality and magic then stitches the two together, resulting in the final image. If the live demo – complete with man-mountain and NBA player, Jimmy Butler – is anything to go by, it's pretty easy.
There's a ton of really useful cases for that, too. I love the idea of getting a group shot where you don't need to ask a stranger to take it – simply swap out the shooter for different stitches.
2. Pixel Screenshots
If you're anything like me, you're probably drowning in screenshots. Whether I see something funny, or something I'd like to reference later on, it's ever so easy to snap a screenshot and go about your day.
Of course, for most people, they then languish in a camera roll for eternity, never to be seen again. Pixel Screenshots is a new app which attempts to make some sense of all of those.
Say you've got a host of screenshots relating to an upcoming birthday present you need to buy. AI in the Screenshots app can collate them all, offering real time advice on things like where to buy.
3. Gemini Live
This is exactly what your smart assistant should always have been. AI may well sit at the heart of Gemini Live, but to think of it as an AI tool is an unnecessary complication.
At its core, this is the most complete version of tools like Alexa, Siri or Hey Google. Speak to it just as you would a friend, and Gemini will respond with useful, context-aware responses.
Oh, and while it's hardly core to the functionality, I love that you can change the voice. It reminds me of the old TomTom satnavs – now if only I could get novelty ones like Ozzy Osbourne and C3PO on this.
4. Satellite SOS
This one flew past so quickly, we barely even caught a glimpse of it. In fact – during our live blog of the event – I had to turn to my colleague just to be sure I hadn't heard what I wanted to hear.
No no, Google are bringing a feature called Satellite SOS to Pixel devices. They were pretty tight-lipped about it, so there isn't an awful lot to say – though presumably it will work in a similar fashion to Emergency SOS via Satellite on iPhones.
Regardless, I'm a massive fan. This kind of technology genuinely has the power to save lives, and for me, there is no better thing which these companies could be doing. If it helps just one person, it's a worthwhile endeavour.
5. Made You Look
Think about all of the times you've ever watched a live tech event. How many times can you remember an audience going "AWWWWWWHHHH" in unison? I can't recall a single one – before last night that is.
Made You Look is a new feature designed for the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and while its implementation was absolutely adorable, the thinking behind it is straight up genius. It's nothing new to see the cover display used to show information to someone in front of you on a foldable phone – we see it all the time with translation.
This app takes that concept, but instead of showing your poorly worded Spanish, it shows a range of colourful, kid-friendly scenes. These are designed to capture the attention of your little ones, keeping them looking at the camera – and hopefully smiling – so you can pap a photo of them.
Other foldable phone manufacturers should be looking at this and kicking themselves – why did no-one think of this before?