Google announced today that it’s rolling out a few new features for Pixel users. Most notably, the tech giant announced that Pixel 8 Pro users will be able to use the phone’s Thermometer app to take their temperature, or someone else’s, with a forehead scan. You can save the reading to your Fitbit profile to get a deeper understanding of your health.
When Google first announced the Thermometer app, the tech giant said you could use it to take the temperature of things like your baby’s milk bottle or your coffee. Now the company says users can use the app to scan their own body temperature. Google previously noted the FDA was reviewing the app’s ability to take body temperatures, and that it would roll it out once it was approved.
Google also announced that it’s launching “Circle to Search, a feature that it unveiled last week, to Pixel 8 and 8 Pro users. The feature lets you search from anywhere on your phone using gestures like circling, highlighting, scribbling or tapping. The company says the new feature is designed to make it more natural to engage with Google Search whenever a questions pops into your head, like when you’re watching a video or looking at an image on social app.
For example, if you’re watching a food video featuring a Korean corn dog, you could circle the corn dog and ask, “Why are these so popular?”
With Circle to Search, you will be able to access search from any app, which means you no longer have to stop what you’re doing to start a search in your browser or take a screenshot to remind yourself to search something up later. It’s worth noting that the feature is also coming to the new Galaxy S24 Series smartphones on January 31.
Google is also bringing its generative AI Magic Compose technology to Pixel 8 and 8 Pro devices. The feature can do things like help you rewrite a drafted message in different styles or make you sound more professional and concise.
In addition, Google is bringing its Photomoji feature to the Pixel 3a and all newer Pixels that have launched since. Photomoji lets users transform their favorite photos into reactions with AI. Users can pick any photo and create a “photomoji” out of it to use in their conversations.
Google says all of these new features will begin rolling out today.
Google’s Pixel 8 brings new camera tricks, better display and a thermometer
