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New wallpapers, Now Playing search, and more are coming to Pixels this month
June 24, 2025
One of the many benefits of owning aGoogle Pixel phoneis receiving monthly Feature Drops, which bring small-but-useful new features to Google’s phones. Google has just announced the December 2021 update for Pixels. If you’re a Snapchat user or you’ve been waiting for a more robust Now Playing feature, this update is for you.
On Pixel phones runningAndroid 12, you’re able to already set a double-tap gesture to quickly access the Google Assistant or open an app. After you install this month’s update, you’ll be able to set the double-tap action to launch Quick Tap to Snap, which will launch you right intoSnapchat. This feature will be available on Pixels 4a 5G and newer. Also, sometime this month, a Pixel-exclusive Pixel Face lens is coming to Snapchat.
Also read:Our full Android 12 review
Now Playing is getting a couple of useful updates. Now Playing recognizes songs playing ambiently around you, but it doesn’t detecteverything. A new search button will begin showing up on Pixel 4 and newer lock screens so you may search for a song right away. Pixel 6 devices have already had access to this feature. Also new to Now Playing is the ability to save songs as favorites by tapping the music note icon next to a song that’s been identified.
To celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which took place Friday, December 3, Google has added three newwallpapersto the Curated Culture section of the wallpapers app. Illustrated by Dana Kearley, a disabled multidisciplinary artist from Vancouver, the wallpapers show colorful scenes of flowers with hearing aids, canes, and wheelchairs.
Here are a few other minor updates arriving with this month’s update:
This Pixel Feature Drop will roll out to Google Pixel 3a–5a devices starting today, December 6, and Pixel 6-series devices starting next week.
Notably, this December update for Pixel devices differs from the more generalAndroid updateGoogle announced last week. Over the next few weeks, select Android devices will get access to Family Bell, new home screen widgets, and more.
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