4 Pixel phone tricks every power user should know - including my favorite

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

I've been a Pixel phone devotee since the beginning, and one of my favorite features is the call-screening capability that debuted with the Pixel 3 in 2018. I don't remember the last time I answered an unnecessary call, and I can't imagine switching to a phone without it.

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Over the years, though, Pixel call screening -- now named Call Assist -- has added several new tricks beyond simply keeping robocalls and other spam phone calls at bay. Here's a look at a few things you might not have known call screening could do.

1. Hold for me

I don't use this feature often, but it's one of the most helpful things my flagship phone can do.

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Hold for Me (which has expanded to all Google Search users) waits on a call for you if someone places you on hold. When a live person picks up, your phone informs them that you'll be picking up shortly and gives you an alert. If you've ever had to deal with being placed on a seemingly endless hold on a customer service phone call, you know how frustrating it can be to wait around.

2. Call notes

This feature is exclusive to the Pixel 9 lineup for now, but I can't wait for it to trickle down. Call Notes does just what the name says. It listens to your calls, extracts the important information, and creates a summary of your call.

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If you're like me, you're the type of person who thinks, "I'll remember that, I don't need to write it down," only to scramble later to find the appointment time or meeting place. Google says Call Notes understands what's important on a call and only saves what you need. You do need to activate Call Notes for each conversation.

3. Make any call a text

If you absolutely hate talking on the phone (or you don't have the ability to talk), any phone call can become a text with Live Captions.

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Designed as an accessibility feature, Live Captions turns what a caller is saying into text on your screen. You get your own keyboard, and the caller will hear the words you type.

4. Screen calls manually or automatically

The original call-screening feature is still one of the best -- and now it's either automatic or manual. If you have it set to manual, you tap "Screen call" when a call comes, and you'll see a live transcription of what the caller is saying so you can decide whether to pick up or not.

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You can reply with auto-generated responses that the caller hears and even handle the whole call without actually answering. If you choose the auto option, your phone will ask who's calling and why and show the response to you. If your phone detects spam, the call ends.

This article was originally published on February 21, 2025, and was updated on May 12, 2025.