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As the official launch of Android 15 nears, Google has released Beta 2, bringing a lot of improvements to Android. 9To5Google reports that Google is introducing a new feature that will improve syncing of Google account profile pictures on Pixel devices.
Android 15 could solve a problem with profile picture synchronization at least on Pixel devices
Previous versions of Android had a problem where updated profile pictures didn’t sync immediately. This delay meant that if third-party apps or services used your Google profile picture, changes could take up to 24 hours or more to propagate.
Android 15 Beta 2 introduces a new avatar picker app that syncs your Google Account profile picture. This new app called “Google Pixel Avatar” appears to only be available for Google Pixel devices. Android Authority says that the Google Pixel Avatar app is a better version of the existing avatar picker available on Android 14 for Pixel devices.
Google Pixel Avatar will replace the current profile picture picker
This new app allows you to use a photo from your gallery as your profile picture, as well as sync the profile picture from your Google Account. You probably won’t find the Google Pixel Avatar in the Android 15 app drawer. It replaces the current profile picture picker in the settings app on Pixel devices.
Android Authority provided screenshots showing that the Google Pixel Avatar app marks profile pictures from your Google account with the distinctive Google “G”. This is not a bi-directional synchronization. So, if you set your Android profile picture to something else, this change won’t show up on your Google account.
The Google Pixel Avatar app is exclusive to Pixel devices. Other Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) like Samsung may have to implement their version of the app with proper synchronization. Android 15 is expected to reach platform stability in June, with a final release later this year.