Google Pixel 6 upgrade could help you see a lot more at a glance
It looks like more functionality is coming to the Google Pixel 6’s contextual ‘At a Glance’ notes
Update: Google Pixel 7 features coming to Pixel 6 — here’s what to expect.
The Google Pixel 6’s ‘At a Glance’ notes system is due to get a whole lot more functionality, according to a code dive courtesy of 9to5Google.
The system, a big feature of the Pixel series, ties in with Google Assistant to bring you timely notifications on your lock and home screens based on the time, date and your location. For example, if you have a meeting scheduled in your Google Calendar that’s going to take you an hour to get to, At a Glance will pop up advising you when you need to leave if you’re going to make it on time.
Currently, the Pixel 6 has a number of these that can be turned on and off according to your own preferences. These are ‘Commute & Time to Leave’ (taking into account factors like live traffic), weather, severe weather alerts, travel information with flight info scraped from Gmail, upcoming events and your work profile.
But 9to5Google has found references to eight new functions in the latest build of the Android Systems Intelligence app. Some of these are old — or at least semi-old — news. The inclusion of timer and stopwatch information from the clock app, for example, has been present over the course of the Android 12 beta. And we saw a brief glimpse of the ‘At a store’ function in the Material You teaser trailer embedded below. Basically it will bring up shortcuts to your shopping list and any loyalty cards when it detects you’re in a store.
But others are completely new, and extremely useful. ‘Connected devices,' for example, will tell you the connection status and battery information for connected Bluetooth devices, while ‘Flashlight’ will simply remind you to turn your flashlight off if you’ve left it on.
It also looks like there'll be a widget specifically designed to tie in with Google’s Nest doorbells, and the activity from fitness apps will likely benefit from Google’s acquisition of Fitbit.
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Finally, your ‘bedtime’ information will be pulled from the Clock app, presumably to give you a light nag that it’s time to wind down, while the safety check countdown from the Personal Safety app can also be surfaced in an emergency.
None of these are live as of yet. And it’s not clear if these features will be coming to the wider Pixel family, or just limited to the newest flagships.
Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.