Google has finally released the public build of Android 16, and it is now available to download for compatible Pixel phones and tablets. With this earlier-than-usual update to Android, Google is focusing not on under-the-hood improvements and practical enhancements, but has also introduced a new design language, as well.
The previous build, Android 15, focused little on visual upgrades but brought in privacy features, such as partial screen recording and Private Space. Android 16, on the other hand, takes a more holistic approach. If you are curious about the update, here is everything you must know about Android 16 and the new experiences it brings to the table:
Phones that can download Android 16
At the moment, Android 16 is limited to Google’s own Pixel phones, starting with the Pixel 6 and newer. Although the list may expand over the coming weeks, these phones currently support Android 16 if you would like to try:
- Pixel 6/6 Pro
- Pixel 6a
- Pixel 7/7 Pro
- Pixel 7a
- Pixel Fold
- Pixel Tablet
- Pixel 8/8 Pro
- Pixel 8a
- Pixel 9/9 Pro/9 Pro XL
- Pixel 9 Pro Fold
- Pixel 9a
In the meantime, if you don’t have a Google Pixel phone but still want to get a taste of its key changes, you can join the official beta programs currently in progress at Samsung, Honor, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Vivo, and Xiaomi.
Notifications with Live updates
One of the most insightful features on Android is the support for Live updates from apps that deal with time-sensitive notifications. A prime example is food delivery or cab-hailing apps, which will now show the completeness of your order — or more simply, the time left to arrival — through an animated progress bar in a dedicated tile on the top of your notifications and on your lock screen.
The progress bar functionality is already present in iOS (as Live Activities) and has also been implemented by several Android OEMs, including OnePlus. You can also see it in action within the Now Bar on Samsung phones. Now, with this change, Google is stepping up to make this a standard functionality in Android, which means it will be available on all devices that run Android 16 and above. Here’s an example from developer Viktor Mykhailiv:
Meanwhile, developers will get access to APIs that will enable live tracking feeds from their apps to be shown through animated tickers. When not viewed directly, the information will be condensed into small pill-shaped icons on the status bar, displaying only the most important information, such as the time left.
Besides live tracking of orders from food delivery apps or cab services, Live updates will also display the ETA for a trip in Google Maps when the app itself is minimized. While the actual utility will depend on apps, and many might not support it initially, we can expect big ones like Uber to be onboard soon.
To reduce the notification clutter, Google will also club together notifications from the same app within a single banner, as you can see in the image above. “Your notifications will automatically be grouped together to keep things looking tight and organized,” says Google.
Audio Sharing and hearing device support
One of the most notable accessibility-centric upgrades arriving with Android 16 is support for hearing aids in voice calls. Following the update, users can switch the audio routing of their voice to the phone’s superior speaker, instead of the onboard mic on their hearing aid.
Moreover, core controls for such devices are now natively available within the Android 16 software. Moreover, the per-ear controls for hearing aid devices are now accessible in the same fashion as you would interact with an average audio gear connected to the phone.
If there’s one way Bluetooth headphones have not been able to match up to wired ones, even the lowest quality, it’s the ability to split audio into two different headsets. And almost a decade after Apple forced the entire phone industry to give up on headphone jacks, Bluetooth headphones haven’t quite been able to replicate the functionality — besides on a small set of unpopular smartphones.
Google, however, intends to finally fix this with a feature called Audio Sharing, which will cast the audio from one pair of Bluetooth earbuds or headphones to another. This basically means that while one person can control the audio playback on their phone, others can join through what Google calls an Audio stream.
The feature relies on Auracast, an audio broadcasting technology where people can tune in to specific broadcast channels — much like radio — through their Bluetooth headphones. The only requirement for Audio Sharing on Android to work is that the headphones must support Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) while the phones must support Auracast. As a result, it will work only on Pixel 8 and newer Google devices (but not Pixel 8a).
For other Android devices, we will have to wait and see which manufacturers implement support for it. In addition to earphones, people with certain other compatible devices, such as hearing aids, will also be able to join audio streams. But this will come at the cost of reduced audio quality. Interestingly, this feature has been somewhat of a peekaboo asset and has kept appearing and vanishing between the QPR beta builds.
Advanced Protection
Advanced Protection is the most advanced suite of security and safety features that Android has to offer. It intends to protect users against malware, risky websites, phishing messages, and scam calls.
When this feature is enabled, you can no longer download apps from any other source except the Google Play Store and the pre-installed app stores from smartphone brands. Users will also see warnings if an app has not passed Google’s standard security checks.
It also enables Safe Browsing in Chrome. In this mode, websites are automatically risked and flagged for safety, and users are alerted if they are about to download a risky file package from suspicious sources. “Advanced Protection allows only Google apps and verified third-party apps to access your Google Account data, and only with your permission,” Google assures.
Predictive back gesture
A relatively minor, but meaningful quality of life upgrade, in Android 16 is support for predictive back gesture. Essentially, when you hit the back gesture — either by tapping on the navigation button at the bottom of the screen or using the screen edge gesture — you will see a preview of the landing screen.
Simply put, it lets you see a glance preview of the screen where the back gesture is going to take you. All you have to do is extend the tap on the back button or keep the finger swiped inward on the screen without lifting it to see the preview.
Adaptive refresh rate
Most smartphones — at least those running Android — feature displays with refresh rates beyond 60Hz. But with refresh rates that go up to 120Hz, 144Hz, and sometimes even 165Hz, battery consumption becomes a big issue.
Another disadvantage is that not all apps run at the highest rates, which can cause frame tearing or jitters in the interface — a term that is usually called “jank.” Some high-end Android devices bypass this limitation by using LTPO displays that support variable refresh rates or multiple variable steps.
For instance, a high-end model from 2025 would support refresh rate values such as 1Hz, 10Hz, 24Hz, 30Hz, 48Hz, 60Hz, 72Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz. The display uses a refresh rate that is closest to the content that is being displayed on the screen. That, of course, does not apply to less premium phones, which typically only support fewer values, such as 30Hz, 60Hz, and 120Hz.
Even with the most expensive devices, the decision of which refresh rate to pick depends on the content played on the screen, which can lead to delay, albeit by a few milliseconds. Secondly, most displays are tuned to run different refresh rates at different display color modes — based on how they were calibrated.
To solve this, Google is looking at PC gaming monitors and adding what it calls Adaptive refresh rate deeper in the Android framework. Although the feature was first introduced in Android 15, it will become mainstream in Android 16. The deeper integration means a display can switch between refresh rates more seamlessly without changing display color modes and allows more apps to take advantage.
In addition to reducing jank, adaptive refresh rate should also improve battery life on phones, allowing displays to work at low refresh rates unless necessary.
Haptics tuned to apps
Over the years, Android OEMs have advertised iPhone-like crisp haptic feedback and vibrations. Brands like OnePlus have even been able to achieve it with alarms and ringtones on flagship devices.
But beyond that, and a handful of games that claim to support “4D vibration,” the topic has largely been ignored. So, with Android 16, Google is adding richer controls for developers to integrate into their apps, where they can assign different vibration patterns to different actions.
Google says the new haptic APIs will allow developers to “define the amplitude and frequency curves of a haptic effect” while minimizing the effects of hardware (vibration motor) available on the devices. This should result in better-tuned haptic feedback across a multitude of apps, though the actual adoption lies with developers.
Tablet computing makes a leap
Android 16 marks a new phase for running apps on a larger screen. On tablets, you will finally be able to freely resize and move app windows. And this convenience will unfold not just on the tablet’s screen, but also on a connected external display.
A new taskbar overflow will now greet users, making it far easier to manage workflows across different app windows. And if your work is tied to Chrome, you will be glad to know that Android 16 adds the ability to run multiple instances of the same app.
Another notable feature, one that power users will appreciate, is the incoming support for custom keyboard shortcuts.
Safety is tied to location
The idea behind this feature is to prevent a bad actor from wreaking havoc in events like theft and prevent account takeover in unknown locations. Google says this new safety guardrail in Android 16 will “help stop common scams like shoulder surfing & PIN theft.”
Once enabled, you will be asked to verify your identity using device lock, PIN, or biometrics if you intend to access sensitive information or log in to a service in a new location. In order to access the feature, follow this path: Google > All services > Theft protection > Identity Check.
You will be asked to enter your Google account details while setting it up, and you can further enhance the recovery protocols by entering your phone number and verifying it. Identity check will be triggered outside trusted locations if someone tries to access passwords and passkeys, use autofill, change device unlock protocols, attempt a factory reset, enable on-device developer options, or remove a Google account.
Camera controls
Google is making several under-the-hood changes to camera algorithms in Android, and the benefit may not be limited just to its own Pixel lineup. First, it is bringing Hybrid exposure, which will allow you to specifically illuminate or darken parts of a photo while letting auto-exposure take care of the rest of the frame.
Apps will have control that combines ISO with auto-exposure or exposure time and auto-exposure, allowing greater flexibility on the amount of light in the image. And these features will not just be limited to the Camera app on your phone but also extend to apps such as Instagram and Snapchat.
Second, video recording apps will have finer controls over hue and color temperatures separately while recording videos instead of just playing with white balance. This will allow for video recording with more accurate colors.
Third, Google is also allowing third-party apps such as Instagram and Snapchat to make use of the phones’ built-in night modes for better low-light photos. Lastly, there are improvements to motion photos that will allow HEIC format photos to retain their HDR metadata through UltraHDR support.
Advanced Professional Video (APV) recording
Video recording on Android 16 is getting yet another boost in the form of added support for APV 422-10 Profile. APV or Advanced Professional Video is a codec that supports 10-bit encoding and video bitrates up to 2 Gbps for “perceptually lossless” video quality while consuming 20% less space than other professional video codecs like HEVC.
A place to store your health records
Google has opened up support to store your health records and make them readable to other apps. You can store medical records in FHIR format and then make them accessible to other apps using Health Connect — a system app that lets you share fitness and activity-related data across apps.
That means you may receive your digital health records from one app — say the one your hospital uses — and share them with another app, such as a diagnostics app or one that may be used to predict cancer.
Ambient mode for BLE hearing aids
Android 16 brings functionality where volumes of hearing aids with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) will be automatically adjusted based on the ambient noise levels. This means the volume on hearing aids will automatically decrease in loud situations or increase when it’s quiet.
In addition, Android 16 will also be able to switch the input source between the microphone on the hearing aids and the phone during voice calls. This will be handy in noisy environments when hearing aids’ microphones may not hear sufficiently.
Desktop mode
For a few generations of Android, Google has been brewing a native Desktop mode or a Chrome OS-like interface that will be projected onto a bigger screen when you connect your phone. Samsung already does this with DeX, but Google wants to make it standard across all phones. Android 16 finally brings it to the table.
Unfortunately, the built-in desktop mode is not widely available with the stable build. Instead, it is limited to the second beta of the Android 16 QPR 1 update. Also, it is not a fully refined experience and will likely take a few months before it is rolled out widely.
In its current iteration, the feature is buried within the Developer Settings section and requires you to enable the “Enable desktop experience features” toggle, followed by a reboot.
“The phone and the external display operate independently, and apps are specific to the display on which they’re running,” explains Google. Also, keep in mind that it is limited to the mainline Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 series phones, and not their affordable A-series siblings.
New Easter egg
Among the major user-facing changes coming to Android 16 is its mightily overhauled Easter egg, a tradition which Android has carried on since the beginning. With Android 16, the spaceship Easter egg that originated in Android 14 reaches a seemingly more fulfilling form.
Much like Android 14 and 15, the Easter egg has a small game where you can float around in the space and find other celestial bodies. With Android 16, there are seemingly more celestial bodies to find and even land on. Google has also added an autopilot mode, so you can simply appreciate its efforts rather than cribbing about how awfully baffling the steering controls feel at first.
When you land on a planet, a tiny victory flag is hoisted. And when the spaceship takes off, there’s a blast-off animation where the vessel springs up from the surface where you had previously landed. If you were hoping to score a win, there aren’t any checkpoints — not the ones we spotted.
But unlike any previous generations, you can minimize the Easter egg and jump back into action later by tapping the persistent notification.
As mentioned above, this floating notification is meant to exemplify the utility of the Live updates feature we discussed above. It displays your progress en route to your next destination, showing the remaining distance and ETA. However, you will have to start afresh if you swipe the notification away.
