December 2024 Pixel Feature Drop: Enhanced Recorder and Call Screen
Google's December 2024 Feature Drop brings notable enhancements to the Recorder and Phone apps on Pixel devices. The Recorder app gains a "Clear voice" toggle to reduce background noise during recordings, improving speech clarity during playback. This feature is available on Pixel 9 and 9 Pro models using the internal microphone with mono audio. Users can toggle the background noise reduction on or off during playback.
The Phone app's Call Screen now offers AI-powered replies, suggesting responses based on the caller's interactions with Call Screen. This functionality leverages Gemini Nano with Multimodality on the Pixel 9 series. Live transcripts of screened conversations are available for Pixel 6 and later devices in US English. For more on AI advancements, see Anthropic's new AI chatbot, Claude 3.5.
Key Features:
- Clear Voice in Recorder: Reduces background noise for clearer speech playback on Pixel 9/9 Pro devices.
- AI Replies in Call Screen: Provides AI-suggested responses based on caller interactions (Pixel 9 series).
- Live Call Screen Transcripts: Available for Pixel 6+ (US English).
These updates build upon previous Pixel Feature Drops, such as the 2025 MacBook Air's camera upgrade and enhanced Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.2 and macOS 15.2, further refining the user experience. The December update demonstrates Google's commitment to continuous improvement and innovation in its Pixel lineup.
