⌚️ The 1st and 2nd gen Pixel Watches are getting the Wear OS 5 update along with a September security patch.

Wear OS 5 is based on Android 14 and brings numerous bug fixes, performance improvements and new features such as:

• A new Privacy dashboard under Settings > Apps & Notifications, which offers users a centralized view of how each app accesses data like location and microphone.
• New Watch Face Format, which adds preset configurations called Flavors, weather conditions, a heart rate system data source, and two new types of complications: Goal progress and Weighted Elements (Useful for displaying discrete subsets of data).
• Option to enable grid app menu.
• Ability to select a media output device directly from the watch.
• Apps will be able to detect when a user takes a screenshot (part of Android 14).

You also get more detailed running metrics with the Health Services update:

• Ground contact time: The amount of time, during a single step, that a runner's foot is in contact with the ground.
• Stride length: The distance covered by a single step.
• Vertical oscillation: The distance that a user's center of mass moves up and down with each step.
• Vertical ratio: Vertical oscillation divided by stride length.
• Debounced goals: improves the user experience for people who want to maintain a specific threshold or range—such as heart rate—throughout their workout.

You'll also get improved camera controls (Google Camera app update) and the ability to install the new Pixel Recorder app for Wear OS, which is only available for v.5.0.

To speed up getting the update, put the watch on charge, open the Settings/System/System Update page, and tap the watch icon at the top several times in a row.

Build number: AW2A.240903.005

😎 Google News | En

🤖 Android 15 is finally out for Pixel devices.

A month and a half after its release in AOSP, Google has finally released the Android 15 update for supported Pixel devices (6 and newer). This version of the OS includes the following new features:

• Private space
• App archiving
• Predictive back gesture animation for supported apps (now enabled by default)
• Saving app pairs
• Ability to pin the taskbar on tablets
• Updated Volume panel
• Dynamic color contrast settings
• Automatically turn Bluetooth on the next day
• New smart home control screensaver
• Updated wallpaper setup menu
• Improvements to the preview of widgets in the list

And many other under-the-hood changes. By the way, don't forget to check out the modernized Android easter egg along with a special Landroid screensaver.

Along with Android 15, Google also released a new Pixel Feature Drop which we will talk about in the next posts.

Build Number: AP3A.241005.015
Security Patch: October 2024

Factory Images
OTA-images

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🖼️ Google Photos' Audio Magic Eraser has gotten an update

This tool now allows you to increase or decrease the volume of certain sounds, as well as separate the voices of speakers to independently change their volume, making the audio in your videos crystal clear.

The feature is part of the October Pixel Feature Drop, and is being rolled out server-side for Pixel 8 and 9 series devices.

😎 Google News | En

Pixel Camera got an underwater capture mode.

With a waterproof case, the underwater photo and video mode will make colors richer and more accurate so you can capture your favorite underwater moments, like snorkeling or swimming.

You can activate this feature in Pixel Camera app Settings \ Advanced \ Underwater photography and video.

Available on Pixel 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL devices with the Pixel Camera app update to version 9.6.080.

😎 Google News | En

📹 Instagram on Pixel devices now supports Night Sight mode.

The Instagram app can now use the Pixel camera's Night Sight algorithm to take better photos in low-light conditions. Available for all Google Tensor-powered smartphones.

The update is part of the October Pixel Feature Drop.

😎 Google News | En

Google is adding notification synchronization between Pixel phones and Pixel Tablet.

When synchronization is activated, dismissing a notification on one device will also delete it on the other. For this feature to work, you need to enable it in settings on both devices and connect to Wi-Fi.

Available on Pixel 6 and newer. This feature is rolling out via an update to the Device Connectivity Service app, and it may take some time to appear in the settings.

😎 Google News | En

📹 New leak on Google's Tensor G5 and G6 chips suggests improved process nodes

For a year now, there have been reports that Google will drop Samsung's processes in favor of TSMC for its fifth-generation Tensor processors, and the chips themselves will be developed entirely in-house. And now, thanks to Android Authority's source, it has been revealed exactly what kind of process nodes will be used in the Tensor G5 and G6.

Google's Tensor G5 (codename “laguna”), which will power next year's Pixel 10 series, will be manufactured on TSMC's N3E 3nm class node. This will definitely be a significant leap forward over Samsung's 4nm class 4LPE node used in the Tensor G4, both in terms of efficiency and performance.

The Tensor G6 (codename “malibu”) that the Pixel 11 (2026) will likely be equipped with will be manufactured on TSMC's N3P node, which is rumored to be used for Apple's A19 chip. This is still a 3nm class process node, but compared to N3E it could offer improvements in terms of performance or power usage.

😎 Google News | En

🤖 The third beta of Android 15 QPR1 has been released.

As a reminder, this is a beta test of the first quarterly update (QPR1*) for Android 15, which will be released this December for devices starting with the Pixel 6 and newer.

Top fixed Issues:

• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused notifications to be displayed with some content that was cut off.
• Fixed an issue with system memory paging that sometimes caused devices to crash and restart.
• Fixed an issue where the volume buttons didn't work when connected to certain Bluetooth devices.
• Fixed an issue where some app icons on the home screen were displaying the default system icon instead of the app's icon.
• Fixed an issue that caused a device to run slowly and sometimes crash when switching back to the primary user from the secondary user.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the system UI to crash.
• Fixed an issue for foldable devices where the screen sometimes went blank when unfolding the device.

Other resolved issues:
• Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented users from interacting with heads-up notifications.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the system to crash while taking a bug report.
• Fixed various other issues that were impacting system stability, connectivity, and interactivity.

Bluetooth resolved issues
• Fix a crash in BluetoothDevice.getType() that occurred primarily in the testing environment when Bluetooth resources were reused between virtual device instances.
• Improved LE Audio volume control by enabling independent adjustment of each connected sink's volume using the UI and limiting volume key adjustments to the primary sink.

Build number: AP41.240823.009 → AP41.240925.009
Security Patch: October 2024

🔗 Factory images
🔗 OTA images
🔗 Sign up for the beta test for the over-the-air upgrade

*QPR — quarterly platform release

#Android15

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📹 Google's upcoming Tensor G5 cores architecture leaked

Following a leak about TSMC's 3nm process node, Android Authority's source has revealed info about the cores that will be used in the Tensor G5.

• CPU
Google has decided to keep a single Arm Cortex-X4 as the primary core, which was used in the Tensor G4. The middle cluster now has five Cortex-A725 cores, instead of the three Cortex-A720 cores in the Tensor G4, and the small cluster has been reduced to two Cortex-A520 cores, instead of the same four in the previous generation.

• GPU
For graphics, the Tensor G5 is powered by a GPU from Imagination Technologies (or IMG), the DXT-48-1536, running at 1.1GHz. First, this GPU has support for ray tracing, which is new to Google chips. Secondly, it supports GPU Virtualization, allowing accelerated graphics to be used in a virtual machine.

• TPU
The Tensor G5 has a faster TPU compared to the Tensor G3 and G4. It is nearly 40% better than its predecessors in terms of TOPS (Trillions of Operations Per Second), but Google's internal benchmarks show that the new TPU is only 14% faster. The improved TPU also features embedded RISC-V kernels that enable operations not implemented in hardware, as well as support for on-device learning.

😎 Google News | En

Pixel 11 may get an under-display infrared (IR) camera

The scanner based on emitting dots in the infrared spectrum allows authentication based on a 3D facial model even in low-light conditions. The only device in the Pixel series to feature such a sensor was the Pixel 4, after which Google relied only on fingerprint scanners and face unlocking with the camera (Pixel 7+), which essentially doesn't work in low-light conditions.

Fortunately, as reported by Android Authority, Google is considering adding an under-screen IR sensor to the Pixel 11. According to the leaked docs, the image signal processor (ISP) in Google's Tensor G6 will get support for an under-display infrared camera system. Thanks to a new “lite” front-end (one of the main parts of an ISP) designed specifically for this purpose, the chip will allow both better and much less power-hungry handling of such systems.

Of course, support for such systems in the Tensor G6 doesn't mean that the Pixel 11 will feature an IR sensor, but at the very least, Google is considering such an option.

😎 Google News | En

📷 First details on photo and video capabilities of the Tensor G5 and G6

The leaks don't stop, and now Android Authority has shared info about new camera features potentially coming to the Pixel 10 (Tensor G5 - 2025) and Pixel 11 (Tensor G6 - 2026):

• The Tensor G5 will get support for 4K 60fps HDR video recording, whereas previous models only allowed 4k 30 FPS HDR videos.

• The Pixel 11 will get 100x zoom thanks to machine learning capabilities for both photos and videos. Furthermore, the leaked documents mention that the feature will also utilize a “next-gen” telephoto camera.

• The Cinematic Blur video recording mode will also get an update in Pixel 11, with support for 4K 30 FPS recording and a new “video relight” feature that appears to correct lighting conditions in videos. Both features utilize a new “cinematic rendering engine” in the chip's image signal processor. The inclusion of the new hardware block also reduces the power draw of video recording with blur by almost 40%.

• The Pixel 11 will get an “ultra low-light video” recording mode. Starting with the Pixel 8 Pro, Google devices have already introduced a “Night Sight” video mode that relies on cloud processing, while the Pixel 11 will be able to process such videos locally on the device. Google specifically noted that the lighting conditions for this feature are 5-10 lux. This is a very low light level, similar to the illumination of a dimly lit room or the light of a cloudy sky at dusk. The new feature will also rely on updated camera hardware to achieve the desired results.

🔗 Android Authority

😎 Google News | En