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Android 16 was launched on 10 June 2025, but currently, we are going to see Android 16 in Pixel 6 and newer models. We are going to see Android 16 in other brands like Samsung, OnePlus, and Xiaomi, later in the year.
Design and Customisation: Material 3 Expressive
We are going to see a refreshed design language (Material 3 expressive) that is slated to bring richer animations, more refined typography and enhance haptic feedback. Except Sniper gesture blurred translucent backgrounds and more vivid colour across UI components. This re-design will roll out through an upcoming QPR update rather than at launch.
Smarter Notification with Live Update and Cooldown
We are going to see in Android 16 live updates and dynamic notification styles that keep track of ongoing tasks such as ride, sharing, food delivery or navigation without needing to open the app. Notifications from the same app are now intelligently grouped by default to reduce clutter. There is also a notification cooldown that surpasses repetitive alerts for a short duration to maintain focus without blocking important calls or alarms.
Windowing And Desktop Mode Updates
In Android 16, we can open, move and resize multiple apps and windows. Much like on a desktop PC. But in later updates, we will see custom keyboard shortcuts and a taskbar overflow for easier navigation.
Accessibility & Hearing Aid Support
Android 16 introduced Auracast, which will allow a single device to broadcast audio to multiple headphones and speakers for hearing aid users. The operating system now allows use of the phone's microphone for clear calls and offers native control for hearing devices via settings.
Privacy and Security Advanced Protection and Identity Check
Android 16 introduces an advanced protection mode. This design is for users from malicious apps, scam calls, unsafe websites and technical fraud. You have to do just one tab, and this will protect you from these things. The Identity check feature adds authentication prompts outside trusted locations to guard against account takeover.
Rich Media and Developer Tools
We will see an advanced professional video codec in Android 16, which will enable high-quality professional-level video capture supporting 10-bit, YUV 4:2:2 and bitrates up to 2 Gbits/s.
Developers now get access to more integrated photo pickers. This includes cloud support (e.g., with Google Photos), search and embedded UI, making media selection smoother and privacy-focused. The health connect platform now supports medical record formats like FHIR, starting with immunization data.
New tools like live update notification, adaptive refresh rate and mobile-friendly text layout, including vertical writing support for languages like Japanese, Chinese, further elevate user experience.
QPR Updates and AI Integration
Google is actively beta testing QPR1 & QPR2 updates. QPR1 adds battery L3 expressive UI and the full desktop mode. QPR2 brings features such as dark mode for unsupported apps, themed app icon, improved parental control and enhanced PDF editing.
The best thing is Android 16 is also leaning heavily on AI with the seamless Gemini AI integration, contextual smart features like Circle to search, and AI enhancement across foldable and wearable OS devices like Galaxy Flip 7 and watch 8.
Android 16 is also an evolution of Google's mobile OS, offering a refined design is smarter notifications, better multitasking and enhanced accessibility, fortified security and powerful media and AI capabilities-all building toward a more seamless, secure, expressive user experience.
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