Google's New Pixel Update Boosts Your Nighttime Instagram Shots and More

Google’s Pixel 9 and 9 Pro are already some of our favorite Android phones, but the latest update brings even more to the phones and will be available on Pixel from Oct. 15. 

From capturing Night Sight images directly from Instagram to new ways to keep your information hidden, the Pixel Feature Drop brings various new functions to a range of Pixel devices as far back as 2021’s Pixel 6. 

Google periodically pushes out a variety of updates and new features to its Pixel phones, bringing new functionality and protections to give Android users a good reason to consider buying Google’s phones over rivals like Samsung. 

One of the main new features is the ability for Instagram to make use of the Pixel’s “Night Sight” mode for night-time photography. While you’ve always been able to post your night images to the ‘Gram, you can now use Night Sight features directly from the Instagram camera for Stories and regular posts, which should help speed up your process.

The new Theft Protection features use various sensors to try and detect if your phone has been snatched and whisked away on foot or by bike. When it senses the theft, your phone will automatically go to the lock screen to stop the would-be thief from accessing your personal data. How well this really works remains to be seen, but I’m planning to test it later this month by getting one of my burliest friends to steal my phone from me while I’m walking down the street. 

Should said thief successfully get away with your phone, you can lock it remotely using a different device, your phone number and a “quick security question.” However, the mechanics of how this works aren’t entirely clear at the time of writing.

Google wants to help keep your phone private in other ways too, even when it remains in your hands. The Private Space tool allows you to hide files and apps behind a hidden, password-protected barrier. Private Space is part of the overall update to Android 15, so you can also expect to see this on other Android devices too. 

All of these features — along with an improved Pixel Weather app that includes pollen information and easier access to the astrophotography mode in the camera app — will come to the Pixel 6 and later. However, other features are restricted to later devices. The enhanced compatibility with waterproof casings for underwater photography, for example, is limited to only the Pixel 9 series, while Audio Magic Eraser, improvements to the object temperature sensor and adaptive vibration are limited to the Pixel 8 and 9 series.

Google is releasing various smaller updates, including regional availability of certain existing features, along with a scattering of updates to the Pixel Watch line and Pixel Tablet. You can read more in Google’s blog post and make sure to check out our rundown of some of the top features coming to Android 15.