The intensity and effectiveness of a smartphone's vibration alert system really depend on the quality of haptics used. Premium phones tend to have better haptics, giving you more precise and pleasant vibrations for incoming calls and notifications. If you own a Pixel 7 or above, there's a feature that lets the phone automatically modulate the level of vibration based on where it is and the environment you're in.
The feature is called Adaptive Vibration in Android 15 and it is disabled by default. If you don't have the habit of exploring your Settings menu, chances are you've probably not discovered this yet. Here's how you can quickly find and enable this nifty feature. We tried this on a Pixel 8 running Android 15.
How to enable Adaptive Vibration on Pixel 7 and later devices running Android 15
1. Open the Settings app on your Pixel device.
2. Tap Sound & vibration.
3. Scroll down and tap Vibration & haptics.
4. Scroll till you find Adaptive Vibration and tap it.
5. Enable the toggle switch to Use adaptive vibration.
Use Adaptive Vibration on Pixels for more dynamic alerts
With a host of new features in Android 15, Adaptive Vibration is one of the new additions. Pixels are some of the best Android phones and have always had excellent haptic motors. Google is now taking it a step further by adapting the vibration intensity based on your environment.
If you've updated your Pixel 7 or later device to Android 15, your phone will now use the microphones and other sensors to detect where you are and what you could possibly be doing and will adjust the intensity of the vibration accordingly. This applies to when you get an incoming call or any other type of notifications and alerts. Google claims no data is recorded with this feature enabled.
If your Pixel is still on Android 14, you might see a slightly different name for this feature, called Adaptive alert vibration. This is slightly different where it reduces the strength of the haptics only when your phone is lying still, with the screen facing up. We saw this option on a Pixel 8 running Android 14, which changed to the more advanced Adaptive Vibration after updating it to Android 15.
Unfortunately, Pixel 6a users will still have the older feature even on Android 15, possibly due to hardware limitations. Adaptive Vibration will only work on a Pixel 7 or later, which includes the Pixel Fold.
Good vibrations
The Pixel 9 is one of the best smartphones for cameras and AI, and you can make it even better by enabling Adaptive Vibration in Android 15.
