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Google Pixel phones can take underwater pictures with a new feature drop

A Pixel 5 held face-up in a persons hand

It's that time again - a new feature drop is making its way to Google's Pixel devices, and it delivers a handful of improvements to different aspects of the smartphone experience.

First, there's a new integration for the Camera app, which makes it possible to use the phone underwater. Used together with an underwater smartphone housing from Kraken Sports, Pixel devices can now give users access to features like Night Sight, Portrait Mode, and Google's image processing to capture better-looking images underwater.

If you're not into diving, the Recorder app also has a new update, which lets users share their recordings as links, which can then be accessed on any device. Not only can the audio file be accessed anywhere, but transcripts of the recording can also be viewed and searched in languages that support them - which is to say, English. The web version of the Recorder app can be found here.

Animation showing the transition between mobile and web versions of the Recorder

Google is also rolling out Smart Compose as part of the Gboard app, which works similarly to how it does on Gmail, except you can now use it across different apps. As you type, your phone can suggest words to finish your sentence or even a conversation starter. The feature is only available in English and only in the U.S.

If you use the bedtime feature that Google has been pushing over the past year and you also have a Pixel Stand, there's now a new bedtime screen with redesigned notifications. Google says this will help you ease you into sleep, but you can only access it on Pixel devices with wireless charging - the Pixel 3, 3 XL, 4, 4 XL, and 5.

Finally, the update includes a few new wallpapers, which were designed by a Spanish duo called Cachetejack and focus on the celebration of International Women's Day on March 8.

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