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| Google announced a number of new Android features |
Google will bring a number of new features to the Android operating system, including new gadgets for YouTube Music, Google Play Books, and Google Photos, as well as new Android Auto features and updates to the Google Assistant and Google Photos.
In some countries, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Galaxy S21 owners can now use their phone as a car key compatible with BMW cars.
Google announced in May that it would develop an automatic key feature for Android 12. BMW in particular was named one of the collaborating manufacturers.
The search giant announced that the feature will be applicable to all BMW vehicles in 2020 and 2022 and hopes to add more compatible cars in the future.
Other new Android Auto features include the ability to launch the vehicle-friendly user interface automatically when your Android phone is connected to the vehicle. There is also a new play button on the home screen that can start playing music with just one click. The new search icon is a quick way to find music and new smart SMS response options.
New widgets for YouTube Music, Google Play Books, and Google Photos are also available on your Android phone screen.
YouTube Music provides playback control and access to recently played songs. And Google Play Books provides a shortcut to access your library.
There's also a new Google Photos widget that can be configured to display photos of specific people and animals in your gallery.
Google Photos Memories has also started displaying photos and videos from organized events in the standard Photo Grid interface.
Google describes the new features in an article
Google's Family Bell, an alert-like reminder system that can be triggered via speakers and smart screens, is also being updated to work on mobile devices.
The company has also released an update to introduce a new feature to reset permissions on older Android phones. Permissions for apps you haven't used in a while are automatically turned off.
However, this feature is available for devices running Android 11 and above. But it will now be expanded to devices running Android 6 and above starting next month. This is an indication of the January release.
As with these types of features, these new options will be introduced at different times.