Google has started rolling out Android 16 on its own Pixel smartphones. Most new features are still pending.
Google announces Android 16 officially. The new Android version is rolling out first to supported Pixel smartphones as usual. After that, it’s up to smartphone manufacturers to determine which devices will receive the update and when. If you don’t have a Google Pixel, you may have to wait anywhere from a few weeks to several months.
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Android 16: which smartphones are participating?
Notifications
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as Google is keeping the major innovations of Android 16 on hold for now. The version launching today primarily focuses on streamlining notifications. Android 16 will group notifications from apps so that a single app can’t overwhelm you with alerts, and for apps that support it, it includes a progress bar in notifications, so you can see, for example, where your taxi is.
Advanced Security
With Android 16, Google expands the Advanced Security Mode. This prevents your phone from connecting to outdated 2G networks, blocks poorly secured websites, and denies system access to USB devices connected to your phone.
Furthermore, Google aims to improve support for devices with large screens, such as tablets and foldable smartphones. This is something Google has been trying to do with Android for years but hasn’t quite taken off yet. Additionally, Android should provide overall performance and efficiency improvements.
Coming Soon
For the most visible innovations of Android 16, we’ll have to wait a bit longer. Just like Apple does with iOS 26, Google wants to give Android a new look this year. The new design is called Material 3 Expressive and adds more color to Android. Google isn’t rolling this out yet because it wants to give developers time to adapt.
Later this year, Google will also introduce a “desktop mode” on Android devices. For this, it’s enlisting the help of Samsung, which has been offering this with DeX for several years. You’ll be able to transform your smartphone into a mini-PC to display multiple screens, or connect your smartphone to an external display.
From this year on, Google is taking a different approach with the Android update timeline. In recent years, we always received the full package in the fall. Now, Google chooses to release the new Android version in late spring and gradually add more features along the way.