Android 16 is Here: 7 Biggest Changes You Need to Know

Google’s upcoming Android 16 will go live in a couple of months. Unlike the traditional launches, this year Android 16 is very different from what we have seen from the previous Android launches.

First, Google Android 16 is coming earlier than expected. The official stable version is expected to roll out in early June 3, 2025, while the beta testing has already started in November 2024. Google will now follow a two-year update life cycle for Android releases.

Google I/O event, which is one of its biggest software unveiling events in May every year. We get complete details of Google’s software innovation and some hardware announcements too. However, this year, there might be a jam-packed year with several AI updates. So, Google has separated the Android 16 event from the Google I/O and made it a separate show, where they unveiled all the updates coming with Android 16.

Google has unveiled several updates that are coming to Android 16, which fundamentally changes everything on the Android device UI and also has a couple of features, with the official confirmation coming directly from Google. Here are the top six biggest changes that will come to Android 16 this year.

What’s New in Android 16? Material 3, Quick Settings & More

Material 3 Expressive Design Overhaul

Android 16’s biggest update so far is the new visual design with Material 3 Expressive. If you are aware, Google first debuted the Material U design, which is Google’s own design language for all Google platforms and products, in Android 12.

And with Android 16, Google has shipped the new version of Material You called Material 3 Expressive. As the name suggests, the new UI design is more aesthetic and is designed to personalise the smartphone experience based on the user’s choices.

The user interface is now more visual with richer animations and improved transitions. Here is what Material 3 brings to your smartphones.

The biggest update is all the visual changes with new icons, new shapes, and overall design visual changes. When Google debuted the Material You design, one of the key features of Material You was adopting the wallpaper and user settings and applying them to the UI.

Now with Material 3 Expressive, it is even more impressive that themes can now react more deeply with your wallpaper and user preferences. Both apps and system UI now automatically adopt new accent colours with system-wide integration.

Plus, now it also comes with fluid motion and enhanced responsive animations. Google says all interactions, like opening settings, volume adjusting, typing, and notifications, feel more fluid and more tactile with responsive design.

Google is also making changes to the typography and layout style in Android 16. There are now improved type sizes with broad headings, making actions and labels stand out from the rest. Google says the layouts are designed for glanceability, they are now organised based on high priority and surfaced clearly to help users easily understand.

These updates are already live for developers. Developers can now directly integrate this new design into their apps with upcoming updates. This new Material 3 Expressive design isn’t just limited to Android, it’s also rolling out to Wear OS 16, Google TV, and other Google platforms in the upcoming updates.

Also, there is a visual change for Quick Settings, which is also inspired by iOS and deserves a dedicated section.

The Quick Settings panel has a new update.

With every iteration of the new software updates, be it iOS or Android, Quick Settings gets a new design for every iteration, and this time it’s one of the key updates in Android 16. With iOS 18, Apple has made big improvements to the control panel; Android 16 is no different.

With my time on the Pixel 9 series a few weeks ago, the current version of Android 15 Quick Settings really felt cluttered and lacked features and customisation. And Google has fixed it with Android 16.

Android 16 has redesigned the Quick Settings panel to make it fast and easy to access essential controls and also get instant, real-time information.

However, one of the biggest changes to Quick Settings adopted by many Android OEMS, including Samsung, is the split notification panel. For example, Samsung One UI and OnePlus OS 16. However, Google has kept the Quick Panel access the same; you can swipe down from the top and swipe further to access Quick Settings.

First, resizing is coming to Android 16, which means you can now easily resize Quick Settings tiles. It works similarly to iOS. For instance, if you want to expand the Wi-Fi toggle to display more details like the connected network, you can simply tap and expand it and make it a big tile.

Android 16 also allows drag-and-drop rearranging of tiles directly from the main panel without switching to a separate edit page.

Following Google’s Material 3 Expressive visuals, Quick Settings now come with an enhanced design. In the previous design, icons were flat and less engaging, but with the latest release, icons have more visual lift and responsiveness and are more personalised based on your preferences.

Since most users spend time in small interactions, Google also enhanced delightful micro-interactions to make them more visually appealing. The new blur feels more aesthetic and modern compared to the previous version. There are also new animated transitions for toggle states like ON/OFF to add more visual feedback.

Plus, there are upgrades for live updates and media integration, something Android is known for. Now, Android 16’s live update notifications are directly integrated into the notification panel, similar to Live Activities on iOS. These cards also now appear at the top of the panel along with media controls.

Additionally, there are new, improved animations and haptics. Switching tiles, such as enabling Aeroplane mode or changing brightness, now includes spring motion and haptic feedback.

Overall, this UI is designed to be consistent across all other Google platforms. Quick Settings are now also more optimised for foldables and tablets with multi-column layouts. Also, the new brightness slider in Android 16 settings has been updated; it’s now larger and features better contrast for more visibility. Also, Auto-Brightness is now shown as a solid line that indicates the current brightness level.

These are the overall changes to the Quick Settings. Android 16 is bringing a lot of visual enhancements similar to iOS. Quick Settings are now fully featured, fully responsive, and similar to other UI elements like Home Screen and Lock Screen elements.

You can also customise the Quick Settings based on your preference. While this may look similar to iOS Quick Settings, it’s a welcome change, as it not only lets you personalise but also adds features based on your preference to make quick access tools easier than in previous Android iterations.

Live Updates (Like iOS Live Activities)

We have been hearing a lot of rumours about Live Activities coming to Android, and finally, now it’s officially on Android 16. Google is bringing Apple-like Live Activities to Android smartphones, where it displays glanceable notifications for your real-time tasks, such as navigation.

Live updates on Android appear on both the Lock Screen, Status Bar, and also in the Notification Panel. Live Activities on the iPhone were introduced to creatively make use of the dynamic island on iPhones, but it quickly became one of my favourite features in the iPhone 16. It lets you glance at real-time information without switching or opening apps, which is always a welcome change.

After iOS, many Android OEMs have already added this feature to their OS, and now it’s Google’s turn to officially include it in the Google core Android OS. Here is how it’s going to look on the upcoming Android series. It is also going to adopt the new Material 3 design with a very different visual style compared to the iOS version. However, unlike Apple, Live activities on Android currently will be limited to Food delivery, navigation, and ridesharing apps.

Here is a comparison between iOS Live Screen Activities and Android Lock Screen Activities to help you better understand the design difference.

Battery Health Monitoring

Once again, Android 16 adds another popular feature from iOS: battery health monitoring. Android 16 now includes a battery health page, which shows the current battery capacity as a percentage of the original, similar to what iOS has offered for years. ios has helped users know when their battery is degrading and whether it needs a replacement. It’s one of the most handy features on iOS, now it’s coming to Android.

Previously, battery health data was not exposed at the OS level on Android.

Android Users had to rely on third-party apps. Now, Android 16 lets you get an accurate battery health percentage directly from the OS without depending on third-party tools.

Improved Factory Reset Protection (Anti-Theft Loop)

Google has rolled out plenty of useful security features over the years, from theft protection to anti-device lock and remote lock, powered-off finding and more, which prevent your device from theft and protect sensitive data on your smartphone.

With Android 16, Google introduces a major update to Factory Reset Protection (FRP) to further prevent stolen or lost devices from being reused.

The new FRP protection adds an anti-theft reset loop. If someone tries to reset the device without proper credentials, they will be locked out of setting up their smartphone without a Google original account or screen lock verification.

This will prevent a stolen smartphone from being reset and used without the original credentials. It even works without internet access. Even if the user bypasses this step, it will automatically restart until the user verifies with a Google account or the screen lock.

This is one of the major anti-theft updates in Android 16, especially since many stolen devices are still able to bypass basic FRP using tools. With mobile theft rising globally, this new protection locks the device into a hard-fail state and makes it unusable without the previous owner’s credentials.

Advanced Protection Mode

Previously only available for Google accounts, Google is offering Advanced Protection on any Android device running Android 16 or later.

Android smartphones have always been more vulnerable to security attacks compared to iOS, but over the years, Google has been trying hard to change that perception. From improved FRP to enhanced security layers, Android 16 introduces Advanced Protection Mode at the iOS level.

Now, with a single toggle in the settings, you can enable Advanced protection for your device. It includes the following features:

• USB port lock prevents data access via USB.
• Disables 2G network, and turns off legacy 2G for added security.
• Block app sideloading restricts APK installations from outside the Play Store.
• Auto reboot after 72 hours of inactivity, your device resets and relocks automatically.
• Offline lock: If the device is offline for too long, it locks automatically.
• The detection lock is enabled by default.
• Memory tracking protects against memory corruption using hardware-based security.
• Intrusion login detection.
• On-device scam protection scans messages and data using AI to detect scams.

Some of these features may be limited to Pixel devices initially and roll out to other Android devices later.

Gemini AI Integration (Replacing Google Assistant)

With Android 16, Google is officially replacing Google Assistant with Gemini. Google has already started phasing out Google Assistant in the past few months. While Assistant is still accessible on many devices and can still be manually enabled, Android 16 marks the official transition to Gemini.

Gemini is more powerful, conversational, and capable of handling human-like conversations and offers more features compared to Google Assistant.

Other Key Features in Android 16

Apart from the six biggest features, Android 16 also introduces several other important improvements:

• Find My Device Hub: Google’s Find My Device is now rebranded as Find Hub with expanded support for third-party trackers like Chipolo and Pebblebee, making it more competitive with Apple’s Find My Network. However, Find Hub has already started rolling out globally, not limited to devices running on Android 16.
• Bluetooth Audio Broadcast: Android 16 supports Bluetooth Auracast, allowing users to broadcast audio to multiple Bluetooth devices.
• Notification Cooldown: A new feature that reduces sound and vibration from multiple notifications in a short time to reduce annoyance.
• Improved Desktop Mode & Multitasking: Better support for foldables and external displays with desktop-style UI and adaptive layouts.
• Local Network Permissions: Similar to iOS, apps must now request permission before scanning other devices on the same Wi-Fi network.

Android 16 Release Timeline

Unlike previous Android versions, Android 16 follows a different release timeline

Here’s the timeline:

Android 16 Supported Device List

Android 16 Update: Major UI Redesign, Live Activities & Gemini AI

As always, Android 16 will first appear on the Google Pixel series, likely from the Pixel 7 to the upcoming Pixel 10 series, and later will be followed by all other devices. Several manufacturers have also started beta-testing Android 16. For instance, OnePlus is already testing OxygenOS 16 based on Android 16 on its smartphones, and we will get our first hands-on with Android 16 and share further updates.

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