Rahman points out that Google is reportedly working on a feature called Clear Calling which puts the emphasis on the “phone” part of a smartphone. What this does is lower and possibly eliminate the background noise heard during a call. While it will work with most wireless providers, the feature does not work with “Wi-Fi Calling.” The latter allows smartphone users to make and take calls over a Wi-Fi network rather than use a cellular network.
Using information found in the Android 13 QPR1 Beta release (for the December Pixel Feature Drop), developer Kuba Wojciechowski and Esper’s Mishaal Rahman have tweeted that Google may be developing a foldable device that was previously unknown (meaning it would be a different foldable besides the Pixel Fold/Notepad). The two also speculate that Google may be working on a premium version of the tablet for release the following year called the Pixel Tablet Pro.
Highlights
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Wojciechowski has an interesting theory about the Ultra which goes by the Codename Lynx, L10. He believes that instead of this being a phone for consumers, it could be an internal device used by Google to test camera sensors. With less than a month until the upcoming Made by Google event takes place on October 6th, we should know fairly soon whether there will be a super premium Pixel Ultra device.
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For those worrying about Google having access to their calls with the new Clear Calling feature, Rahman says that the content from your calls is not sent to Google. Wojciechowski says that he found an update for the rumored Pixel Ultra which now features two IMX712 image sensors with one listed as ultra-wide. The other IMX712 sensor seemingly drives a 13MP front-facing camera.
Another potential feature mentioned by Rahman that was discovered in the Android 13 QPR1 Beta is spatial audio. This allows users to have a sense of where the sounds they are listening to are coming from. Also called “3D Audio,” sound is placed 360 degrees around the listener allowing him to determine if the source of the sound he hears is from in front of him, behind him, to the left, or the right.
The reason why Wojciechowski might be correct with his assumption is that Google hasn’t hidden anything about the Pixel ecosystem it is working on. Heck, the company even showed off pictures of the Pixel 7 series back in May during the Google I/O Developers Conference. With this type of transparency, which also led Google to announce a 2023 release for the Pixel Tablet, the search giant would have undoubtedly revealed some details about a Pixel Ultra.
Tap on the link that says, “View your eligible devices” and click on the blue box that reads + Opt in. Within 24 hours, you will receive an OTA update that includes the Beta. You’ll find it at Settings > System > System update.
You better back up your phone before installing the beta because if the update is too unstable for you, to exit the beta program you will have to wipe your phone. On the other hand, if you can hold on until the stable version of the feature drop is released in December, you can then exit the Beta program gracefully and without having to wipe your data.
While the Android 13 QPR1 Beta has revealed a huge amount of information about Pixel devices, perhaps the most exciting news for those with the Pixel 6 Pro is the possibility that Google will push out an update that will allow the front-facing camera to create depth maps of users’ faces allowing the device to offer a secure version of Face Unlock. Animation was discovered in the Beta that shows a woman setting up Face Unlock by staring into her Pixel.