In addition to rolling out the Android 7.1 Developer Preview 2 update, Google is now pushing updates to Pixel phones in Canada that adds a couple of new features.
Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones in Canada appear to be receiving an update to Android 7.1, build NPF26J. What’s notable is that the update adds two new ways to quickly check your notifications.
First is double-tap to check, which lets you double-tap your phone’s display when it’s turned off to view your notifications. There’s also a lift to check feature that’ll show your notifications when you pick up your device.
Both of these ambient display features are pretty handy for quickly and discreetly checking your notifications. With them, you can see what alerts you have without having to fully power on your display and check the status bar or pull down the notification shade.
It doesn’t sound like this update is rolling out widely, so if you’re not in Canada, you may have to sideload the update to check out these new features now. The OTA links for both the Pixel and Pixel XL are available, but keep in mind that you’ll need to be coming from the NDE63V build to install this new update. If you’re on NDE63V and you know how to sideload an OTA update, you can find the Pixel’s update here and the Pixel XL’s update here.