Pixel Drop brings AI summaries, theme packs, and more

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After the update, it's time for the next update: Shortly after Google released an update for its Play services, the company is delivering new AI features and so-called theme packs for its Pixel devices with the Pixel Drop on November 11th. The update will be released independently of the next Android 16 QPR2 version, which is expected in December and will once again deliver new features.

For the first time, the Pixel Drop for November includes theme packs that fundamentally change the appearance of Pixel 10 devices. The three packs, inspired by the film “Wicked: For Good,” include wallpapers, icons, system sounds, and GIFs. The theme packs can be downloaded for a limited time until the end of January 2026. These are unlikely to be Google's last theme packs.

Remix function for photos

Also new is the ability to edit and redesign any photo with the Remix function in Google Messages. Remix uses the Gemini model for image generation and editing Nano Banana. According to Google, all users, even without a Pixel smartphone, can see the images, including in group chats. With other Pixel users, the images can be remixed back and forth in messages “without ever having to leave the app,” says Google.

AI summaries—only in English

To avoid having to read long chats in their entirety, Pixel smartphones from the Pixel 9 (excluding the 9a) can now also create summaries. Long texts from chat apps can be summarized in the notification area. However, the function initially only supports English texts.

From December, Pixel smartphones will help to “further reduce the flood of notifications.” This is because lower-priority notifications can be organized and silenced.

A dedicated power-saving mode is being introduced in Google Maps with the Pixel Drop, which conserves battery during car journeys with navigation. To start the function, you only need to press the power button, and a simplified layout will appear showing only important information, such as when to turn. According to Google, battery life in this mode should be extended by up to four hours compared to the usual mode. The function is only available on the Pixel 10 series.

Google has also revised the VIP settings, which allow messages from important contacts to be prioritized. In addition, the contacts widget should in the future display emergency alerts for VIPs.

Other features, which are mostly not available in Germany, include a warning about scam messages in chat apps starting with the Pixel 6. The function is intended to warn about suspicious content before users react to it.

Google Photos also receives an update with the Pixel Drop: users can use extended editing functions in group photos via voice command: things like sunglasses can be removed from an image or closed eyes can be opened. According to Google, the app uses existing photos from the gallery to create realistic results. The so-called “Help me Edit” function is only available in the USA.

Private Cloud Compute

Also only available in the USA is the expansion of the proactive Pixel Assistant “Magic Cue.” This is now intended to provide more timely suggestions, which is realized through Google's new data protection technology, Private AI Compute. “Private AI Compute” is in a way a similar solution that Apple uses with Private Cloud Compute: computationally intensive tasks are outsourced to a secure cloud instance.

According to Google, this option should offer more AI computing power than what is available in the smartphone and help ensure that AI functions can not only process simple requests but also provide more personal and tailored suggestions.

Google has published a complete overview of the Pixel Drop innovations in the support forum published.

(afl)