Pixel phones get a brilliant lockscreen home security update

Google has rolled out the latest At A Glance feature for Pixel phones, which includes a live thumbnail view of the Nest Doorbell camera feed on the home screen.

The feature, announced as part of the June Pixel feature rollout last week, allows Pixel owners to see who’s at the door without digging into the app.

Tapping on the tile will open the full screen view in the app, allowing users to interact with the person at the door and get a better look at them.

In a blog post, Google explained how the feature works with the Nest or Google Home apps to save users a few seconds and taps, making sure it’s the delivery guy and not some creep who’s standing at your door stealing your packages.

Google wrote: “There is no need to get up from your comfortable spot on the couch to see who is at the door. Now you can see when someone touches your Nest Doorbell right from your lock screen. This feature requires a compatible Nest Doorbell (sold separately) and the Google Home or Nest app.

The feature rollout, which was spotted in testing in January (via 9to5Google), helps improve interoperability between Pixel phones and Nest Doorbell cameras, both of which are made by Google.

Feature Drop, one of the regular updates Google provides to its local Android phone users, also includes a flashlight reminder to help you turn off the torch with a single tap on the home screen, if you accidentally left it on. At-a-glance air quality alerts will also be available soon.

The drop also includes the ability to add a screenshot as a shortcut on the lock screen, which could be useful for quickly finding your Covid-19 vaccination proof. Finally, there are Pride Month-themed wallpapers and a new sound enhancer to help Pixel owners with hearing loss.

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