The New Pixel Sounds are So Good

Google rolled out a surprise update this week to the system Sounds app on your Pixel phone. The update arrives as Sounds 2.0, and no, you won’t find it in your app drawer. Instead, it updates through Google Play to only be accessible from the notification and ringtone sounds chooser. It’s pretty great, though!

The previous sound chooser from Google’s Pixel line was a standard ringtone and notification sound chooser. It was basically a list of available sounds. Now, you’ve got categories, a colorful UI that moves around in weird ways I can’t explain as you listen to each sound, and Google should be able to add to it over time, like they do with their wallpapers app.

There are fun categories like Retro Riffs and Reality Bytes that I think you’ll have some fun with. Might I recommend Fraidy Cat for your notification sound, because hissing cats are always fun. The Retro Riffs ringtones will probably bring back some childhood gaming memories too. The Minimal Melodies are almost all good, especially if you actually use a ringtone and don’t want to be the guy who everyone stairs at in not-so-friendly ways as a call comes in.

The update to Sounds 2.0 should be available to almost everyone who owns a Pixel, Pixel 2, or Pixel 3 at this point.

Google Play Link