GoKawiilJoe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR The Pixel 11 series comes with a new utility called Pixel search.
Pixel search expands the capabilities of the phones’ app drawer search bar, allowing users to surface additional information like photos and emails.
While Pixel search is updated through the Play Store, it’s currently only available on Pixel 11 phones.
The search bar that lives in Pixel phones’ app drawers has long been able to search for more than just apps, and on the new Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro, it can help you find even more stuff. Google’s latest phones upgrade system-wide search with the ability to find specific photos, files in Google Drive, and more. That enhanced functionality comes courtesy of a new app appropriately called Pixel search.
Pixel search comes preinstalled on Pixel 11-series phones. We saw hints of the new software in an Android 17 beta this past spring, but now that some customers have received their Pixel 11-series phones, Pixel search is out in the wild — and interestingly enough, the app is also showing up on Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra, as noted by Droid Life.
The Play Store listing for the new utility (which is currently only accessible from Pixel 11 and Z Fold 8 phones) says that it can help you find info in Google Drive, Photos, Calendar, “and more,” all from your app drawer search bar. Oddly enough, this functionality seems exclusive to the app drawer search bar; it doesn’t apply to the version on your homescreen.
Pixel search isn’t a standalone app that you’ll open by tapping an icon, but rather an upgrade to applicable phones’ launchers that lets the app drawer search bar tap into more of your data stored within the Google ecosystem. By hosting it on the Play Store, Google’s made it so that the utility can be updated at any time, independently of system updates.
Screenshots of the new service on the Play Store show that in addition to files, images, calendar entries, text messages, and contacts, the app drawer search bar on Pixel 11 can also surface specific emails, upcoming alarms, and even troubleshooting guidance. It seems like the type of cross-service integration Google ecosystem buffs will love.
We don’t know if or when this updated search experience will make its way to older Pixel phones. As it stands today, it’s exclusive to Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold, as well as the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra.
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