Screenshot features on your mobile device are pretty important but when it takes a million years to load and there are other pop up windows you have to go through, it can be quite annoying. Pixel owners have had to suffer through this even as their Samsung-owning (and Apple as well) friends have enjoyed a fast screenshot experience. Now Google seems to be catching up as the latest Feature Drop on Pixel devices will now let you take screenshots instantly.
Pixel owners use the almost standard Android way of taking screenshots, which is long-pressing both the power and volume down buttons. But what made it pretty annoying and inconvenient was that it took a few seconds to actually capture, which in digital time is like a million years. There’s even a notification with a delete button that pops up but that also adds to the inconvenience at times.
According to Droid Life, the December patch rolling out to Pixel phones now brings that millisecond, near-instant screenshot feature to Pixel owners. You will still have to do the power and volume down long press but this time it’s instantly captured and you don’t have to wait a few seconds when you could be doing other things (well, if you can do something in 1-2 seconds). You will also not get that notification anymore to delete just to make things faster.
Of course, the update also brings the standard December security patch for the Pixel 3, 4, and 5 lines while the Pixel 2 line will get their final update later this month. Since it’s a Feature Drop, there are other new things that have arrived for your smartphone but this fast screenshot thing is the one that stands out especially for those who love/need to screenshot often and send it to friends or post on social media.
While you have to wait for the Google update to reach your Pixel phone, you can also do it manually if you know how to flash an OTA file or an image. If not, better to just wait for the update so you can screenshot away.