June feature drop for Pixels brings astro timelapse, Pride wallpapers

Locked Folders finally make it to Pixel phones with the latest feature drop.

What you need to know

• Google is rolling out the latest feature drop for Pixel smartphones.
• The update brings a new astrophotography timelapse feature and new clipboard features in Gboard.
• Google Photos gains the recently announced Locked Folders feature, and more countries gain access to car crash detection.

The latest feature drop for Pixel smartphones arrives today, and Google highlights the many features that are arriving with this latest update.

Astro timelapse

The last feature drop introduced underwater photography for Pixels. This time, Google is taking the Pixel astrophotography feature to the next level. With the new Astrolapse feature, Pixel owners can take a video of the stars moving across the sky while the phone simultaneously captures an image using the same exposure. This gives owners of the Google Pixel 4 and later devices more ways to share their awesome night captures.

You can learn more about taking astrophotography pictures and videos on Google's support page.

Locked Folder

The recently announced Locked Folder is also making its way to Pixel smartphones. The feature will integrate with the camera app so that users can choose to save newly captured images straight to the locked folder.

As indicated during the announcement of Locked Folders at Google I/O 2021, images saved here won't appear in memories, shared albums, or slideshows on any of the best smart displays.

Gboard clipboard/Features coming to new regions

Gboard is also getting updated, allowing users to keep multiple items saved in the clipboard for easy access. This will be used primarily for important items like phone numbers, email addresses, and URLs, and each item will have an identifiable icon.

Some features already available on Pixel phones are being expanded to new regions. Car crash detection is a feature that has actually managed to save lives, and now Pixel owners in Spain, Ireland, and Singapore will have access to this feature. Here's how to enable car crash detection on the Pixel, which is also available for users in the U.K., Australia, and the U.S.

Call Screen is making its way to Japan, allowing more Pixel owners to use Google Assistant to screen unknown callers to check for spam or robocalls. And if your phone is ringing but isn't in reach, you can now tell Google Assistant to answer or reject the call.

Google's Recorder feature for Pixels also gets a handy update with more English dialects, including Singaporean, Australian, Irish, and British English. It should be available on Pixel 3 up to the Google Pixel 5 by the end of July.

Pride Month Wallpapers

Lastly, Google is introducing snazzy new wallpapers to celebrate Pride Month, each created by Ashton Attzs, along with new Pride ringtones and notifications. The new backgrounds can be found in Styles & Wallpapers.

These new features have begun rolling out for Pixel devices today, including a new Digital Wellbeing feature that will periodically remind you to look up from your phone when you're walking. Be sure to keep checking for updates on your Google Pixel phone to get your hands on these new features!

The early-adopterGoogle Pixel 5

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Get the latest features first

The Google Pixel 5 is one of the best value flagship smartphones. It has exceptional cameras, fast updates and is usually the first to gain the latest features arriving on Android. If you're an early adopter, this phone will be the best choice to try Android 12 before most people.