Android Feature Drop May 2024: Everything included in the latest drop!

Quarterly, Google brings the Android world a Feature Drop. This allows the company to launch new features for phones, tablets, watches, and Chromebooks in one big push. Today, the latest Feature Drop is here, and it brings a slew of new tools.

Some of these will launch today, such as the Google Messages one. Others, like the hotspot sharing feature, will come “soon,” so that could be any time this year. There are also some that require you to be a part of an early testing program, such as the Google Home widget one. Be sure to make note of these limitations so you’re not looking for a feature that isn’t actually available to you!

Without further ado, here’s everything in the Android Feature Drop for May 2024.

Android Feature Drop May 2024: All the new features

• Edit Google Messages: In testing for quite a while now, the general public can finally edit a message in the Google Messages app. You can only edit RCS-based messages you sent and can only edit them within 15 minutes of sending. Once you’ve edited the message, it will get a permanent “Edited” tag, so everyone in the chat will know it’s been changed.
• Share hotspots: A new feature called Instant Hotspot will allow you to share your phone’s data connection with your Android tablet or Chromebook with just one tap. No more needing to connect to an SSID and then type in a password! Google lists this feature as “coming soon,” so we don’t know when it might actually land. When it does, you’ll need to enable Cross-device services on your Google account for it to work.
• Change Google Meet devices: If you’re using your laptop for a Meet call but need to head to the car, you no longer will need to disconnect from the call to then re-join from your phone. Simply tap the Cast icon and “throw” the call to whichever device you’re looking to use. Like the hotspot feature, this will require Cross-device services to be enabled.
• Google Home Favorites widget: This is something we’ve wanted for a very long time. You can now create a widget that houses your favorite smart home device controls. If there’s a switch you push multiple times each day, you can simply add it to your home screen (along with any other switches) and control everything without needing to dig through to the Home app. In order for this to work, though, you need to be part of the Google Home Public Preview program, at least for now.
• Google Home Favorites tile for Wear OS: Like the previously mentioned widget, this new feature brings smart home controls to your wrist. The Tile works like any other Wear OS Tile (just place it in your preferred section and then swipe to it from the home screen), and there’s also a complication for adding a shortcut to supported watch faces.
• PayPal on Google Wallet for Wear OS: In the United States and Germany, you can now pay for things through your PayPal account on Google Wallet for your smartwatch. In other words, you can use your watch at a tap-to-pay station and then use funds from your PayPal account instead of a credit/debit card.
• New Emoji Kitchen combos: Google’s Emoji Kitchen allows you to mash different emojis together to create something specific to your current situation and then share your creations in chats through Gboard. The potential combinations of this service just expanded, with Google giving one example of mixing 🎧 and 🪩to create a set of headphones with a disco ball in the middle.
• Digital car keys coming to more vehicles: You can already lock, unlock, and start your car with your Android phone, but only on a limited selection of models and brands. That list is expanding today, with support for models from MINI, Mercedes-Benz, and Polestar.