Android 16 has already reached the ultimate levels of growth and the ultimate launch is only a few weeks away. With this earlier-than-usual quantity replace to Android, Google is focusing totally on under-the-hood enhancements and sensible enhancements.
Whereas Android 15 focussed little on visible upgrades introduced in privateness options, equivalent to partial display screen recording and Non-public Area. This 12 months, too, Google doesn’t appear too eager to focus a lot on a radical aesthetic overhaul.
In case you are curious concerning the replace, right here is all the pieces you need to learn about Android 16, together with when it will likely be obtainable, which gadgets have already got it, and which options are prone to make it to the ultimate launch.
Android 16 launch date
Google launched the Android 16 developer previews and beta months forward of the same old schedule. As such, Android 16 beta 3 is already reside, and we now have already reached the “Platform Stability” stage, suggesting Google is simply making remaining touch-up and fixing bugs quite than testing new options. This era is supposed for builders to adapt their apps
Primarily based on the time launch timeline, we anticipate the steady model of Android 16 to reach someday after April. Although we don’t have any official statements, there wouldn’t be a greater time than Google’s annual developer convention — Google I/O, which is able to kick off on Could twentieth this 12 months.
Telephones that may obtain Android 16
In the mean time, Android 16 is restricted to Google’s personal Pixel telephones, beginning Pixel 6 and newer. Though the checklist might develop over the approaching weeks, these telephones at present assist Android 16 beta in the event you would to attempt:
The newly launched Pixel 9a will not be formally on the checklist but, however you shouldn’t have any issues operating the most recent model of Android on it.
In the event you want to check out the Android 16 beta in your cellphone, head over to this hyperlink, and choose the gadgets you want to be up to date.
The shorter-than-usual window between the discharge of steady Android 15 and Android 16 builds leaves much less time for a number of upgrades, however there are some noteworthy options we’d see coming to Android this 12 months in any case.
Notifications with Dwell updates
One of the vital insightful options on Android is the assist for Dwell updates from apps that cope with time-sensitive notifications and replace. A first-rate instance is meals supply or cab-hailing apps, which is able to now present the completeness of your order — or extra merely, the time left to arrival — by way of an animated progress bar in a devoted tile on the highest of your notifications and in your lock display screen.
The progress bar performance is already current in iOS (as Dwell Actions) and has additionally been carried out by a number of Android OEMs, together with OnePlus. Now, with this alteration, Google is stepping as much as make this an ordinary performance in Android, which implies it will likely be obtainable on all gadgets that run Android 16 and above.
In the meantime, builders have entry to APIs that may allow reside monitoring feed from their apps to be reveals by way of animated tickers. When not considered instantly, the knowledge can be condensed into small pill-shaped icons on the standing bar, displaying solely crucial data, such because the time left. Right here’s an instance from developer Viktor Mykhailiv:
In addition to reside monitoring of orders from meals supply apps or cab companies, Dwell updates will even show the ETA for a visit in Google Maps when the app itself is minimized. Whereas the precise utility will rely on apps, and lots of may not assist it initially, we are able to anticipate massive ones like Uber to be onboard quickly.
In the meantime, Google is demonstrating how Dwell updates will work with the brand new Android Easter egg, which we’ll have a look at later on this article.
Audio Sharing
If there’s a method Bluetooth headphones haven’t been capable of match as much as wired ones, even the bottom high quality, it’s the flexibility to separate audio into two completely different headsets. And nearly a decade after Apple compelled the complete cellphone trade to surrender on headphone jacks, Bluetooth headphones haven’t fairly been capable of replicate the performance — apart from on a small set of unpopular smartphones.
Google, nonetheless, intends to lastly repair this with a characteristic known as Audio Sharing, which is able to forged the audio from one pair of Bluetooth earbuds or headphones to a different. This principally signifies that whereas one individual can management the audio playback on their cellphone, others can be part of by way of what Google calls an Audio stream.
The characteristic depends on Auracast, an audio broadcasting know-how the place folks can tune in to particular broadcast channels — very similar to radio — by way of their Bluetooth headphones. The one requirement for Audio Sharing on Android to work is that the headphones should assist Bluetooth Low Vitality (BLE) whereas the telephones should assist Auracast. In consequence, it can work solely on Pixel 8 and newer Google gadgets (however not Pixel 8a). For different Android gadgets, we must wait which producers implement assist.
Of us at Android Authority have been capable of activate the performance and provides us a glimpse of the interface, although we don’t have it at our finish but.
Along with earphones, folks with sure different suitable gadgets, equivalent to listening to aids, will even be capable to be part of audio streams. However, it will come at the price of decreased audio high quality.
Adaptive refresh fee
Most smartphones — at the least these operating Android — characteristic shows with refresh charges past 60Hz. However with refresh charges that go as much as 120Hz, 144Hz, and generally even 165Hz, battery consumption turns into an enormous situation. One other drawback is that not all apps run on the highest charges, which might trigger body tearing or jitters within the interface — a time period that’s normally known as “jank.”
Some high-end Android gadgets bypass this limitation through the use of LTPO shows that assist variable refresh charges, or a number of variable steps. As an illustration, a high-end from 2025 would assist refresh fee values equivalent to 1Hz, 10Hz, 24Hz, 30Hz, 48Hz, 60Hz, 72Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz. The show makes use of a refresh fee that’s closest to the content material that’s being displayed on the display screen. That, in fact, doesn’t apply to much less premium telephones which generally solely assist fewer values, equivalent to 30Hz, 60Hz, and 120Hz.
Even with the costliest gadgets, the choice of which refresh fee to choose is dependent upon the content material performed on the display screen, which might result in delay, albeit by just a few milliseconds. Secondly, most shows are tuned to run completely different refresh charges at completely different show coloration modes — based mostly on how they have been calibrated.
To unravel this, Google is taking a look at PC gaming screens and including what it calls Adaptive refresh fee deeper within the Android framework. Though the characteristic was first launched in Android 15, it can turn out to be extra mainstream in Android 16. The deeper integration means a show can swap between refresh charges extra seamless with out altering show coloration modes and permits extra apps to take benefit.
Along with decreasing jank, adaptive refresh fee also needs to enhance battery life on telephones, permitting shows to work at low refresh charges except mandatory.
Haptics tuned to apps
Through the years, Android OEMs have marketed iPhone-like crisp haptic suggestions and vibrations. Manufacturers like OnePlus have even been capable of obtain it with alarms and ringtones on flagship gadgets. However past that — and a handful of video games that declare to assist “4D vibration,” the subject has largely been ignored.
So, with Android 16, Google is including richer controls for builders to combine of their apps the place they’ll assign completely different vibration patterns to completely different actions. Google says the brand new haptic APIs will permit builders “outline the amplitude and frequency curves of a haptic impact” whereas minimizing the consequences of {hardware} (vibration motor) obtainable on the gadgets.
This could end in higher tuned haptic suggestions throughout a large number of apps, although the precise adoption lies with builders.
New Easter egg
Among the many main user-facing modifications coming to Android 16 is its mightily overhauled Easter egg, a convention which Android has carried on for the reason that starting. With Android 16, the spaceship Easter egg that originated in Android 14 reaches a seemingly extra fulfilling type.
Very like Android 14 and 15, the Easter egg has a small sport the place you possibly can float round within the area and discover different celestial our bodies. With Android 16, there are seemingly extra celestial our bodies to search out and even land on. Google has additionally added an autopilot mode, so you possibly can merely admire its efforts quite than cribbing about how awfully baffling the steering controls really feel at first.
Once you land on a planet, a tiny victory flag is hoisted. And when the spaceship takes off, there’s a blast-off animation the place the vessel springs up from the floor the place you had beforehand landed. In the event you have been hoping to attain a win, there aren’t any checkpoints — not those we noticed.
However in contrast to any earlier generations, you possibly can reduce the Easter egg and leap again into motion later by tapping the persistent notification.
As talked about above, this floating notification is supposed to exemplify the utility of the Dwell updates characteristic we mentioned above. It shows your progress en path to your subsequent vacation spot, exhibiting the remaining distance and ETA. Nevertheless, you’ll have to begin afresh in the event you swipe the notification away.
Digicam controls
Google is making a number of under-the-hood modifications to digital camera algorithms in Android, and the profit is probably not restricted simply to its personal Pixel lineup.
First, it’s bringing Hybrid publicity, which is able to permit you to particularly illuminate or darken components of a photograph whereas letting auto-exposure maintain the remainder of the body. Apps may have management that mix ISO with auto-exposure or publicity time and auto-exposure, permitting higher flexibility on the quantity of sunshine within the picture. And these options won’t simply be restricted to the Digicam app in your cellphone but additionally prolong to apps equivalent to Instagram and Snapchat.
Second, video recording apps may have finer controls over hue and coloration temperatures individually whereas recording movies as an alternative of simply taking part in with white steadiness. This may permit for video recording with extra correct colours.
Third, Google can be permitting third-paty apps equivalent to Instagram and Snapchat to utilize the telephones’ inbuilt evening modes for higher low-light photographs.
Lastly, there are enhancements to movement photographs and can permit HEIC format photographs to retain their HDR metadata by way of UltraHDR assist.
Superior Skilled Video (APV) recording
Video recording on Android 16 is getting one more increase within the type of added assist for APV 422-10 Profile. APV or Superior Skilled Video is a codec that helps 10-bit encoding and video bitrates as much as 2Gbps for “perceptually lossless” video high quality whereas consuming 20% much less area than different skilled video codecs like HEVC.
A spot to retailer your well being data
Google has opened up assist to retailer your well being data and make them readable to different apps. You possibly can retailer medical data in FHIR format after which make them accessible to different apps utilizing Well being Join — a system app that permits you to share health and exercise associated information throughout apps.
Meaning you could obtain your digital well being data from one app — say the one your hospital makes use of — and share them with one other app, equivalent to a diagnostics app or one that could be used to foretell most cancers.
Ambient mode for BLE listening to aids
Android 16 brings performance the place volumes of listening to aids with Bluetooth Low Vitality (BLE) can be mechanically adjusted based mostly on the ambient noise ranges. This implies the quantity on listening to aids will mechanically lower in loud conditions or enhance when it’s quiet.
As well as, Android 16 will even be capable to swap the enter supply between the microphone on the listening to aids and the cellphone throughout voice calls. This can be helpful in noisy environments when listening to aids’ microphones might not hear sufficiently.
Desktop mode
For just a few generations of Android, Google has been brewing a local Desktop mode or a Chrome OS-like interface that can be projected onto a much bigger display screen while you join your cellphone. Samsung already does this with DeX, however Google desires to make it customary throughout all telephones.
Whereas there have been important developments this 12 months, together with a display screen recording characteristic completely for the exterior monitor, to recommend Google might lastly launch it, this doesn’t appear to be the case. We hope to see extra developments on this regard over the approaching months main as much as Android 17’s developer preview, which could come later this 12 months. However we wouldn’t be shocked if Google decides to present us a glimpse of it throughout Google I/O in Could this 12 months.
