Google has announced some major new features coming to Android and Wear OS devices during the Mobile World Congress 2023 event in Barcelona, Spain. These new features will be rolling out today, February 27th, and will be available at a later date.
The new Android features will be available from February 27th.
© Digital Trends Author Christine Romero Chan / Digital TrendsGoogle Drive users can now manually comment on Android phones and tablets. This means you can now use your stylus or fingers to annotate PDFs directly in the Google Drive app on Android.
Google Meet users now get noise cancellation on Android phones and tablets. The noise canceling function filters out annoying background noise during a call. Those who use the Gboard keyboard now have a new emoji kitchen where they can mix, shuffle, and share stacks of emoji as stickers.
Chrome users on Android now have access to page zoom. This will first launch in the beta version of Chrome and then be available to everyone in the public version. With Page Scale, you can easily increase the size of your content by up to 300% in the Chrome browser. This includes text, images, videos, and even interactive controls. Despite the increase, you keep the layout of the page. You can also set the default size of your favorite content so you don't have to change it every time you use Chrome.
If you already have access to the Chrome beta, you can try this feature now by going to Settings > Accessibility in the Chrome browser app.
More Android and Wear OS features coming soon
© Contributor to Digital Trends Andy Boxall / Digital TrendsFor now, the features we just mentioned today should be rolled out. But that's not all, Google hasn't set a specific release date for new features other than "soon".
Google Wallet gets touch animation at checkout to provide visual context for in-store transaction confirmation. These cartoons have funny penguins and other characters.
Google Keep users will soon be able to have a single note widget, allowing them to manage their notes and to-do lists from a home screen widget. The widget displays reminders, background colors, and images added to notes from the app while syncing with your smartwatch. Additionally, Wear OS users can take advantage of the new Google Keep interface with two new Wear OS 3 shortcuts that let you create notes and to-do lists with just a tap of the watch face.
There will also be two new display and sound modes for Wear OS users, which should improve the overall accessibility of the watch. Mono audio reduces the confusion audio segmentation can cause, while color and grayscale blend modes offer more options for those who need more viewing options.
Finally, Chromebook users get Fast Pair, which makes it easier to pair and connect to a Chromebook headset. If you've already set up headphones with your Android phone, your Chromebook will automatically connect when you're within range.
