Google is working on a loud sound alert for Pixel phones

Google’s prized Pixel lineup of phones is already jam-packed with small quality-of-life features that make the user’s day just that little bit easier or better. With the latest version of Android System Intelligence for Pixel 7, Google might be shipping a loud sound alert feature that’ll warn users when a “hearing damaging” loud sound is detected. 

Note that the feature doesn’t officially exist in the At a Glance settings on your Pixel just yet. It was uncovered by 9to5Google by decompiling the latest version of the Android System Intelligence app uploaded to the Play Store and seeing some relevant code. It builds upon existing features already found in Pixel phones, such as the famous Now Playing feature that automatically detects songs playing around you and show any relevant information on the lock screen. 

While we don’t know how the feature works or if Google even plans to ship it officially, it’s presumably much like the other At a Glance warnings on the lockscreen. In this case, the user might just be promoted to either step away or lower the volume if possible. 

Google isn’t the first company to implement such a feature either. Apple has offered a similar feature on the Apple Watch for quite some time now, alerting users when the average sound level over three minutes exceeds the safe hearing threshold. Apple doesn’t save these sounds for processing either, and we expect Google to either process these sounds locally on the device or doesn’t retain them. 

However, that’s not all that the new ASI version had to offer. It also revealed that more Pixel Launcher search shortcuts might be coming soon, including Chrome, Files and Photos meaning you can now search across more Google apps right from the home screen. As for changes that are already live, the At a Glance settings list has been reordered with the addition of new icons.

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