With this year’s new phones, Google is introducing “Pixel Search” as a “dedicated search companion designed to help you find personal information faster than ever.” Whether you need to locate an app, find a file in Google Drive, or search for a photo, you can now access your device’s core data from a single search bar. However, the “single search bar” mentioned by Google is not the one at the bottom of the home screen. It is the field available after opening the Pixel Launcher app grid. Previously, Pixel Launcher search integrated with Clock, Contacts, Pixel Tips, Play Store, Settings, and Wallet. Pixel 10 vs 11 announcement: Scroll for more content On the Pixel 11, this list has been expanded to include Calendar, Drive, Google Files, Gmail, Messages, Photos, and Pixel Screenshots. Those with multiple accounts can set up a specific address for Google Drive and Gmail. When you search for a term, you’ll see Calendar events, documents in Drive, emails, a row of photos, and Google Messages chats. It only takes a second for all results to complete. As before, you can quickly open apps, as well as access app shortcuts, although they now appear more prominently. There is also support for your work profile. This is a nice unified search experience, but not being the default one-tap option hurts it a lot. The AI mode (Google’s app) that takes over the home screen search bar is still pretty inelegant, following the release of that change last December. Google presumably wants consistency when tapping the search bar on any Android device, but this mandate only degrades the usefulness of device search. It greatly reduced my use of pixel search last week. The best solution is to set Pixel Launcher search to automatically open the keyboard when you swipe up on the home screen. FTC: We use automatic affiliate links that generate income. Further.
