Update 25/01/2024: Google India has officially announced that Pixel 8 is now available in Mint in the country for a limited time. Only the 128GB model is available in Mint colour. However, there’s no sign of the Mint variant of Pixel 8 Pro coming to India as of yet.
Google has announced a new set of features via the January Feature Drop update for the Pixel 8 series smartphones. This update includes one of the key features that were made available with Galaxy S24 series, and that’s Circle To Search. Further, Google has also released a new limited-edition Mint colourway for the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro.
Talking about the new colour first, the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro now come in a limited-edition Mint shade. This one is a more muted colour than the Bay Blue of Pixel 8 Pro. Further, the mint shade is only available for 128GB models of the two devices sold solely via the Google Store, at least in the US.
Aside from that, the January Feature Drop update for Google Pixel 8 series brings improvements for the built-in thermometer on the Pixel 8 Pro. This thermometer is capable of taking your own or someone else’s body temperature whereas earlier, it could only measure temperature of objects and not a human subject. Google describes this feature as “medical-grade” meaning it did receive certification from FDA for using this feature to measure body temperature.
Read More: Google Pixel 9 Pro Renders Leaked: Taking Design Cues From Galaxy S24
Next, the update enables ‘Circle To Search’ feature, first seen on Galaxy S24 series. In Pixel 8 series also, if a user is using the three-button navigation system, they can long press on the home button (or the gesture bar in case of gesture navigation) and circle, highlight, scribble on, or tap anything on screen to see helpful, high-quality search results. And depending on a user‘s location, for certain searches, generative AI-powered overviews can provide helpful information and context pulled together from across the web, and users can ask more complex and nuanced questions. The feature will go live for the devices on January 31.
Further, Google is starting to roll out the Photomoji and Magic Compose features in the Google Messages App for older Pixel users as well, such as those using Pixel 6 or newer. Photomoji enables the transformation of any photo into a personalised reaction or sticker, and Magic Compose assists in rewriting messages with diverse styles using generative AI. Photomoji is available for the Pixel 3a and later, while Magic Compose is only available for the Pixel 6 and later where processing will take place on-device in case of Pixel 8 Pro while other Pixel devices will leverage Google Cloud technologies to use the feature.
The update also brings the Nearby Share rebranding into effect, meaning users will now see Quick Share on their devices instead of Nearby Share. Finally, Google is also enabling automatic audio switching on the Pixel Watch. “You can switch your Pixel Buds Pro from your Pixel Watch to any number of Pixel phones or Pixel Tablet and get helpful notifications about where your audio is switching to,” the company said in a blog post.
