Joe Maring / Android Authority
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TL;DR
- Android 17 QPR2 Beta 6.1 introduces HiLight LED support for messages.
- If enabled, HiLight LED will glow twice when you receive a message from a favorite contact.
- A stable build of Android 17 QPR2 is expected in December.
The Pixel 11 Pro’s HiLight was marketed as one of its highlight (pun intended) features. It glows when you get a call or when Gemini is working in the background, but unfortunately, it seems to weaken the Pixel’s flash. While Google can’t fix the flash issue, it is working to make HiLight more useful for Pixel users.
With the Android 17 QPR2 Beta 6.1 update, the HiLight LED can glow when you receive a message from your favorite contacts (h/t 9to5Google). This isn’t entirely surprising, as we spotted evidence pointing toward message integration alongside new HiLight colors yesterday. It’s worth noting that QPR2 Beta 6.1 doesn’t add any new colors for the HiLight LED; those might arrive in a later update.
You can find the new messages option under the “Manage Experiences” section in Settings > System > HiLight. You can also manually enable or disable HiLight for calls and messages for individual contacts by going to their contact page.
It’s surprising that it took Google this long to introduce message support for HiLight, and it’s even more surprising that the new colors aren’t here yet. Google needs to pick up the pace on rolling out new HiLight features, or users might start viewing HiLight as a novelty instead of an actually useful feature.
The Android 17 QPR2 Beta 6.1 update is now available, and you can install it on your Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, or Pixel 11 Pro Fold to try the new HiLight options. A stable QPR2 build is expected in December.
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