Google is fond of introducing Assistant features alongside new devices, and that’s true for the Pixel 7. Among other upgrades, the new phone now lets you mute incoming calls just by saying “silence.” You don’t have to let the call ring if you can’t (or just don’t want to) reach for your handset.
You’ll also get transcription directly in Messages, so you don’t have to play an audio clip in a quiet room. It should be easier to record your company meetings, too. The Pixel 7’s Recorder app will “soon” provide speaker labels to transcribe each person’s words separately. You’ll know if it was your boss or a coworker who suggested an idea.
It’s not clear when or if these features will reach non-Pixel hardware. Google sometimes keeps them as exclusives, but is known to sometimes make them more broadly available to Android users after a few months’ wait.
Other phone-oriented improvements are subtler. Voice typing now automatically suggests emoji, and supports additional languages that include French, Italian and Spanish.
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