New Pixel 5 and 4a 5G features including Adaptive Sound and Connectivity

Alongside the Google Pixel security updates, Google has released several new features for the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5.

The last Pixel feature drop we saw was in September alongside the launch of Android 11.

The first of the two features is ‘Adaptive Sound,’ which goes hand-in-hand with Adaptive Battery and Adaptive Brightness. Adaptive Sound uses the phone’s microphone to pick up sounds near you so it can automatically tune the speaker’s audio.

The example Google gives where Adaptive Sound might be useful is when travelling from your quiet home to a noisy city. The feature is also available on the Pixel Buds (2020), Google’s recently released wireless earbuds. Adaptive Sounds works on-device and mic audio is deleted after it’s processed, says Google. Users can also disable it if they want.

Another feature called ‘Adaptive Connectivity’ is only available for the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5. Adaptive Connectivity helps save battery life by automatically switching from 5G to 4G based on the app you’re using. This sounds very similar to the way Apple’s iPhone 12 series handles 5G connectivity. Further, Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 are also getting GPS accuracy improvements in the update.

Another feature for Pixel 4 phones and newer helps phones preserve their battery health over time by controlling how quickly the phone charges overnight. This feature is called ‘Adaptive Charging,’ and is available on the Pixel 4, Pixel 4a and newer Pixel devices.

Google Photos also includes new ‘Dynamic’ customization that enhances brightness, contrast, colour, and sky suggestions to improve the look of the sunset and sunrise.

Furthermore, the home screen for other Pixel handsets now features new icons, grid views and app shapes.

The full chart of new features and supported devices is available below:

Image credit: Google

Source: Google