A third-party app called HiLight Studio is giving Pixel 11 Pro owners far greater control over the phone’s HiLight notification LED, a feature that Google shipped in 2026 with significant restrictions out of the box.
As released, the Pixel 11 Pro’s HiLight LED serves only two functions: glowing when the phone is face down during a Gemini interaction, or lighting up when a call arrives from a favorite contact. Users are also limited to just five colors. Developer Dhananjay_Tech, known on X as Dhananjay_Tech, built HiLight Studio to address those limitations.
The app allows users to trigger the HiLight LED array based on a wide range of conditions — such as receiving a Slack notification containing a specific keyword or getting a new text message — and to customize how the light responds. Options include rainbow pulse patterns, wave animations, and fine-grained controls over timing per cycle, brightness, intensity, and saturation. Color selection expands to eight preselected options or a full color slider. Users can also import and export presets to share configurations with others.
HiLight Studio is not yet available on the Google Play Store. Installing it requires downloading the app from GitHub, sideloading a couple of apps, enabling developer settings on the device, and making additional adjustments to the phone’s configuration — steps that go beyond a standard app installation.
The development comes amid what the source describes as a missed opportunity by Google, given that notification LEDs were once a widely appreciated feature on older Android devices. HiLight Studio may appeal to Pixel 11 Pro users who want more utility from the hardware Google has built into the device, provided they are comfortable with the sideloading process.
Source: The Verge