Summary
- The Google Recorder app now has a new app shortcut that lets users quickly start an audio recording without opening the app.
- This comes days after Google brought Gemini Nano to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a, with the Pixel 8 Pro already featuring the advanced AI model.
- The recent Pixel Feature Drop also introduced a handful of upgrades for select Pixel devices, including better summaries in the Recorder app, DisplayPort support, and multiple camera improvements.
The recent June Pixel Feature Drop brought Gemini Nano to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a, with the 8 Pro being the only device to support it prior to this addition. Gemini Nano brings a ton of AI improvements to the table, with the Pixel-exclusive Recorder app getting some upgrades for the newly supported Pixel 8 models. But this clearly wasn’t the last of the changes, as Google Recorder has also picked up a handy app shortcut for easier access to the record button.
Related
Google’s June Pixel Feature Drop expands Gemini Nano and adds DisplayPort output
Plus big improvements for Pixel Watches and Tablets
First spotted by 9to5Google, the Recorder app now contains a prominent Record option within its shortcuts menu. For the uninitiated, the app shortcuts menu is activated by long pressing the app icon, ideally when it’s on your home screen, though it can also be activated from the app drawer. This feature appears to be widely rolling out, including on my Pixel device running version 4.2.20240502.639621645 of Google Recorder.
As the site points out, the functionality is fairly similar to the Recorder’s Quick Settings tile. The recording begins immediately after tapping the app shortcut, with users then being redirected to the app for controls like pause, delete, or save.
This is a relatively minor upgrade and one that wasn’t mentioned in the recent Pixel Drop. Either way, frequent users of the Recorder app will appreciate this inclusion as it would save them the few seconds required to manually open the app and then tap the large FAB to begin an audio recording.
Speaking of which, the Record button within the app shortcut (a red circle on a white background) bears no resemblance to the FAB inside the Recorder app, which has circles in a light and darker shade of red for the Record button. It’s unclear if this distinction is deliberate or just an oversight that will be rectified in a future update.
Other changes with the June Pixel Feature Drop
Upgraded AI summaries (left); DisplayPort support (middle); Manual lens switching (right)
As Google explained in its blog post this week, the Recorder app on the Pixel 8, 8 Pro, and 8a can now provide “more detailed, downloadable summaries” than previous versions. This is in addition to identifying speakers automatically from the recording/transcript or through manually included speaker labels. Users can also export the transcript into a text file or even upload it to their Google Drive, which is a handy feature.
The Recorder app is not the only area where the Pixel 8 trio got better this month. These three smartphones also gained DisplayPort support via USB-C, which allows easy mirroring of the device on a large screen, provided the monitor/display supports it.
Elsewhere, certain Pixel phones have also received improvements to HDR+ imagery with this month’s Feature Drop, while Pro models of the Pixel 6 and 7 (plus the Pixel Fold) can now let users manually choose the lens they want to capture images/videos from. This feature was previously limited to the Pixel 8 Pro.