Based on the latest Android Canary and Android 17 Beta releases, Google is working on a Pixel “laptop” of some kind that will feature a “Pixel Glow” hardware feature.
About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we decompile the latest version of an app that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we can see several lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Please note that Google may or may not offer these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. However, we will try to enable those that are closer to being finished to show you what they will look like if they are shipped. With that in mind, read on.
Android Canary 2604 and Android 17 Beta 4, as well as earlier versions, reference a feature called “orbit.” In the system settings app, it is known as “light_animations”.
Pixel Glow
Beta 4 today explicitly names and marks this feature as “Pixel Glow.” This hardware capability “uses subtle light and color on the back of your device to inform you of important activity when it is face down.”
There is a clear emphasis on allowing you to “stay in the moment without losing touch.” Pixel Glow will display these “subtle lights” when a favorite contact calls. One particular implementation detail is how using existing flash notifications will override the new capability.
Pixel Glow will also be active when talking or “interacting with Gemini.” It’s billed as a way to have “hands-free interactions using visual feedback.”
- Favorite calls: Subtle lights when your favorite contacts call you
- Talking to Gemini: Hands-free interactions using visual feedback
Google will let you enable/disable those features individually and we’ve enabled an early look at the Settings page. The page warns: “Use Pixel Glow with caution if you are sensitive to light.”
The inclusion in Android 17 suggests that Pixel Glow will come with the next Pixel phone. That said, the Pixel 11 series renders that have been leaked do not show any cuts for the lights. Some possible locations could be the camera bar or even the ‘G’ logo.
Integrating Pixel Glow into the camera bar would make the Pixel’s signature hardware element even more iconic.
pixel laptop
Based on our findings, this capability will be available on both Pixel phones and laptops. The aforementioned settings page explicitly checks whether the device type is a desktop or not. Compared to the phone implementation, we don’t have as many details about how Pixel Glow will work on laptops.
However, we are sure that the Gemini’s visual response will be an option on laptops. There is also an “ic_laptop_light” icon in this week’s Android releases:
That Google is making a new laptop isn’t surprising in the context of desktop Android. In the modern era, it would follow the Pixelbook and Pixelbook Go.
Before that, there was the Chromebook Pixel (and Pixel C) which prominently featured a “light bar” that you could tap to check battery life.
Dylan contributed to this post
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