Google announced six new features for Android: earthquake warning, star information, etc., to be launched this summer

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June 16 news Google announced some of the latest features for Pixel phones earlier this week, and in an official blog post updated today, Google announced more new features, this time for the entire Android system. There are a total of six new features, and this is the first time the company has done this - organizing a bunch of upcoming features into one announcement post.

1. Android Earthquake Alert System

First, Android Earthquake Alerts is rolling out globally. People in affected areas can receive alerts seconds before an earthquake hits. So far, the system has been launched in New Zealand and Greece, and is now rolling out to Turkey, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Google says it is prioritizing the rollout of this feature in countries with a higher risk of earthquakes, and more countries will have it in the coming year.

2. Star Messages

Users can now star messages in the Messages app to easily find them later. Just tap and hold on the message, then select Star. There's also a new Star category that saves all of these messages for users. This feature "will start rolling out more broadly in the coming weeks."

3. Contextual emoji suggestions

Contextual emoji suggestions are available in Gboard beta today and will roll out to the stable version of the Gboard app "this summer" for messages written in English, Spanish, and Portuguese on devices running Android 6 and above. These suggestions will help users discover the perfect emoji combination after typing a message.

4. A more powerful Google Assistant

Google Assistant can now go directly to specific places in apps, so users can tell it something like “show me the stocks I bought in Yahoo Finance” and it will jump right into the app and complete that task.

5. Improved gaze detection in Voice Access

Designed for people with motor impairments, and helpful for those without motor impairments, the Voice Access feature lets you navigate your phone and apps quickly and efficiently using your voice.

Voice Access now has gaze detection in beta, so users can set the feature to work only when they are looking at the screen. The feature also has enhanced password entry, which lets users enter letters, numbers, and symbols when a password field is recognized.

6. Android Auto supports customization

Finally, the Android Auto experience is now customizable. You can personalize your launcher screen from your phone and manually set dark mode. It's also easier to navigate content, with new tabs in media apps, a "back to top" option, and A to Z buttons in the scroll bar. If you're setting up Android Auto for the first time, the process is now faster.

Electric vehicle charging, parking, and navigation apps are now also available in Android Auto, and the messaging experience has been improved so users can access their favorite messaging apps from the launcher screen. Globally, users can read and send new messages directly from WhatsApp and Messages.