Google brings Material 3 Expressive to Pixel 6 and newer devices, along with other features | TechCrunch

Google announced Wednesday that it will bring many new features to the Android ecosystem and pixel devices. The tech giant is heading to pixel phones, adaptive audio for Pixel Buds Pro 2, adaptive audio for Pixel watches, adaptive audio for Pixel Watch, new AI writing tools in Gobaild, enhanced audio sharing capabilities, the ability to create custom Android bots, and more.

Starting Wednesday, Material 3 expressive will appear on the Pixel 6 and updated devices as well as on the Pixel tablet. Google says the expressiveness of Material 3 will make your pixel feel more personal, as you can add animations to your lock screen’s wallpaper with real-time effects and create custom phone cards for your contacts.

Later this month, Google brings adaptive audio to the Pixel Buds Pro 2, allowing buds to adjust to their surroundings to stay alert while listening to music. Plus, when you’re in a loud environment, you’ll be able to use buds to negotiate clearly with Gemini. You can also accept or fire incoming calls by nodding or shaking your head.

Additionally, Pixel Watch users can now start walking or cycling navigation on their phones on Google Maps and then automatically display it on their smartwatch.

As for the new AI writing tool in Gboard, you can now modify your tone to make it more formal, expressive, or concise. You can also quickly fix spelling and grammar. All proofreading and rewriting happens on your device, Google says, meaning your data is still private.

Google also announced that you can now pair two LE audio Bluetooth headsets with your Android phone so that you and another person can listen at the same time. With audio sharing, you can listen to songs at the same time or watch movies with your own headphones. The tech giant says this feature can help in several different situations, such as when you’re in a busy cafe or commute to and from the train.

Additionally, you can create a QR code to share audio with the group by launching a private broadcast that others can join. The feature allows multiple people to listen to the same playlist on their headphones, which Google says can be used to do things like hosting a silent disco.

Google stresses that the redesigned fast sharing feature makes it easier to share and receive content on Android, allowing you to switch between sending and receiving, previewing photos before sharing, and opening received files immediately. In addition, there is a new progress metric that shows you real-time updates about the percentage of files that have been transferred.

Finally, Google announced that it is introducing Androidify, a way to build your own Android bot by uploading selfies or writing tips. Androidify uses Gemini 2.5 Flash titles for photos and imaging to generate your custom Android bot. In some cases, it uses Google’s latest video generation model, VEO 3, to animate your bots.