Google gives the Pixel 11 Pro’s HiLight LED a much-needed feature

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.