Assistant Voice Typing
All Android phones feature voice typing.
But you get Assistant voice typing on the Google Pixel 8 (and older Pixel models).
This feature supercharges the traditional voice-to-text typing method by doing all the processing on-rig.
Sergio Rodriguez/MakeUseOf
Your Pixel doesn’t need an active internet connection to convert what you’re saying into text.
The result is that voice-to-text conversion happens almost in real-time, significantly improving your voice typing experience.
switch on the feature by navigating toSettings > System > Keyboard > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Voice typing.
Since the feature is a part of Gboard, you cannot use voice typing with another third-party keyboard.
The downside of Assistant voice typing is that it doesn’t work with all languages.
Currently, it supports English, French, German, Italian, German, Japanese, and Spanish.
On the Pixel 8, voice typing is even faster than on previous Pixels.
Plus, the feature can understand multiple languages simultaneously, allowing you to switch between them seamlessly.
Advanced Face Unlock
Like voice typing, almost all Android phones nowadays feature face unlock.
However, this is largely limited to unlocking the phone.
The company has achieved this using its new machine learning and AI algorithms.
Anywhere you better verify your identity can use face unlock instead of the fingerprint scanner.
And since face unlock is automatically triggered, the authentication happens seamlessly.
If you’re switching from an iPhone, you won’t find this improvement a big deal.
While Google’s implementation is impressive, the Lock Screen customization options on iPhone are much more versatile.
To try this:
5.
That’s not all, though.
Drag and Drop Content Between Apps
Android 14 introduced the ability to drag and drop content between apps natively.
Simply long-press on the highlighted text (or image) until it’s moveable.
Then, using your other hand, launch the app where you want to drop the content.
Ensure the text box is in focus on the new app and drop the selected item.
Do note that the feature is a bit finicky in its present state.
It may not work across all apps, and dragging and dropping images does not always work.
Similarly, you might kick off the Camera app by double-pressing the power button.
This is one ofthe best Pixel 8 featuresthat you must enable.
As we’ve seen, taking the time to explore its many functions is well worth it.
