Since Android Jelly Bean in 2012, Google has released one major version update each year. That’s changing with Android 16, as the company is shifting away from a single, massive annual release to more frequent feature rollouts. The most recent Android 16 release starts today.
The downside to this new release schedule is that Android updates are about to get messier. As you’ll see from the list of “new” features below, several of the things Google is announcing today have already been announced. There’s no longer a clear-cut divide between Android version updates and feature updates.
Android 16 Updates for Pixel Phones
Notification Summaries & Organizer
Last month, the Pixel Drop included Notification Summaries, and now it’s rolling out to more Pixel devices. AI-powered notification summaries condense long message threads and alerts, attempting to give you the context you need at a glance without having to dive into every single app. As promised to roll out in December, the new Notification Organizer tool sorts groups and silently manages lower-priority notifications, hoping to help you stay focused on what’s actually important to you.
Home Screen Personalization
As previewed in the Android Beta release in September, you can now natively choose custom icon shapes that aren’t reliant on a launcher. On top of that, themed icons are now automatically applied across all apps, regardless of whether or not they support it. Both of these features will allow you to achieve a level of customization that’s really never been possible without third-party apps—at least on Pixel phones.
Expanded Dark Theme
Speaking of automatically applying themes, dark theme can now darken light apps that don’t natively have their own dark theme. This reduction in brightness helps you save a bit more battery life, and is, of course, easier on your eyes. Nothing is more jarring than going from a nice dark app to a bright white screen.
Easier Access to Parental Controls
If you’re handing a device off to a kid, or you just want to set some healthy boundaries, Parental Controls are now built right in to the Settings app. There’s still a shortcut to the Family Link app for some of the more advanced features, but this should make it easier to access the common Parental Controls. As always, this feature is protected by a PIN, so your settings stay secure, and no amount of pleading can bypass the scheduled bedtime.
General Android Updates
Captions With Emotion
It’s easy to lose context when you only read something in text without audio. Expressive Captions are here to fix that. They’ll now include the emotion of how someone is speaking with tags—like [joyful] or [sad]. This should help convey what’s being said even when you’re watching a video with the volume muted.
Emoji Kitchen Sticker Combos
One of the most fun Gboard features is the Emoji Kitchen stickers, and now they’re allowing you to be even more creative and bizarre. Google didn’t share many details about this other than saying you can “mix and match your favorites.” I’m assuming this just means more stickers have been added.
Making Urgent Calls
If you absolutely need to reach someone, the “Call Reason” feature (currently in beta) coming to the Phone by Google app may be a lifesaver. You can flag a call to a saved contact as “urgent,” and assuming they also use the Phone by Google app, they’ll see the indicator on their incoming call screen. If the person still misses the call, the “urgent” label stays clearly visible in the call history.
Leave Unwanted Group Chats
Spam and scam messages are super annoying, but Google Messages does a lot to minimize them. A new feature allows you to leave and report group chats more easily. If an unknown number adds you to a group, you get an alert showing key information and safety tips. You can then instantly leave the chat, block the number, and report it as spam with a single tap.
In addition, Circle to Search can now help you check for scams. Just circle a suspicious message and get an AI Overview with information from the web, letting you know if the message is likely a scam. The AI will also provide guidance and suggested next steps, meaning you can screen suspicious texts without ever leaving the Messages app.
Pinned Tabs in Chrome
As previewed last week, pinned tabs in Chrome now work just like they do on your desktop. This makes it easier to keep pages you want to revisit saved at the top of your browser, letting you quickly pick up exactly where you left off without scrolling through a messy grid of tabs.
Accessibility
Lastly, some important accessibility features are also rolling out. The aforementioned Expressive Captions are coming to YouTube across all devices. For those using a mouse with their Android device, “AutoClick” lets you set a custom amount of time for the cursor to pause on an element before it automatically clicks.
You can also use voice dictation more easily with TalkBack by using a simple two-finger double-tap to start voice dictation. And on Pixel phones, Smart Dictation with Gemini lets you edit text with natural voice commands, like “make it shorter.” Also, the “Guided Frame” with Gemini feature now gives a more descriptive understanding of what’s in the camera’s view on the Pixel camera app.
And finally, Fast Pair for hearing aids lets you quickly connect your Bluetooth LE Audio-enabled hearing aids directly to your compatible Android device with just one tap.
Again, some of the features here were already previously announced and even started rolling out. Some of the features are app-specific and will be available to all Android users, while others are exclusive to Pixel phones. More frequent Android releases are a good thing, though it does make the concept of “new” a bit cloudier.
Source: Google (1, 2, 3)
