The Top New Android 16 Features (2025): How to Install, Features, Release Date

3 weeks ago

Another year, another type of Google’s mobile operating system. Android 16 brings a full caller look (Apple besides conscionable announced a redesign successful iOS 26), much customization options, immoderate chunky information enhancements, and a fewer invited accessibility improvements. Android 16 is rolling retired to prime devices today—these are nan caller features that caught our eye.

Google officially ditched nan delicious dessert names for Android years agone pinch Android 10, but it still uses them internally. Android 15 was Vanilla Ice Cream, and Android 16 is codenamed Baklava.

When Is Android 16 Arriving for Your Phone?

The charismatic merchandise day for Android 16 is June 10. This merchandise is earlier than accustomed (last year’s merchandise was September), and Google has already scheduled different “minor” release, possibly Android 16.1, for nan past 4th of 2025. The developer preview of Android 16 was released successful November 2024, and Google dropped beta releases successful January, February, March, and April.

Google's Pixel phones ever get nan caller Android type first, but Android 16 is besides coming to prime devices from Honor, iQOO, Lenovo, Motorola, Nothing, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Samsung, Sony, Sharp, Vivo, and Xiaomi successful nan coming months. Check your telephone manufacturer's website, forums, aliases societal media to study erstwhile (if ever) to expect Android 16.

How to Download and Install Android 16

Folks pinch a Google Pixel telephone (Pixel 6 and newer) tin download Android 16 by going to Settings > System > Software updates > System update and tapping Check for update.

If you can't wait, you whitethorn beryllium capable to instal nan Android 16 Beta. These prerelease versions alteration developers to trial nan forthcoming type of Google’s mobile operating system, study astir nan caller features, and hole their apps aliases games to activity properly. They besides springiness early adopters nan chance to get a sneak peek.

Beta releases are much unchangeable than developer previews, but immoderate bugs are likely, and location are a fewer hoops to jump done to instal them, truthful it’s not recommended for everyone. If you want to effort it, you request a supported partner device (including prime phones from Honor, Oppo, OnePlus, and Xiaomi), and you must motion up for nan Android Beta Program. Most folks who motion up will get nan beta updates complete nan aerial without wiping their phones, but you can’t opt retired of nan beta programme without factory resetting your phone. Make judge you back up your Android phone first.

Updates usually popular up automatically, but you tin ever cheque whether you person nan latest type successful Settings > System > System update by tapping Check for update. Want to get disconnected nan beta and spell backmost to Android 15? Go to Google's Android Beta page, scroll down to find your device, and deed Opt out. This will swipe each locally saved data, truthful you'll suffer thing you haven’t backed up. You should get a punctual to return to nan older version.

Top Android 16 Features

These are nan features and improvements coming successful Android 16 we're astir excited about. You tin study much astatine Google’s developer site, and make judge to publication our question and reply pinch Google’s Android chief astir his hopes for nan platform.

Live Updates

Google is introducing real-time search into your Android notifications for services, for illustration nutrient transportation and navigation. Instead of having to unfastened up nan applicable app, you’ll spot unrecorded updates successful nan notification drawer showing erstwhile your Uber will get aliases what move to return adjacent if you’re walking location utilizing directions. These Live Updates will beryllium nan apical notification and besides look connected nan Always-on Display, truthful you tin spot astatine a glimpse erstwhile your nutrient will get via an app for illustration DoorDash. Pull down to grow nan notification, and you’ll spot a advancement barroom and speedy links to actions, specified arsenic nan action to telephone aliases connection nan driver.

Similar to Live Activities successful Apple’s iOS, Live Updates whitethorn beryllium implemented somewhat otherwise by each manufacturer. Samsung apparently plans to rotation Live Updates into its Now Bar that sits astatine nan bottommost of nan fastener screen, while OnePlus will merge them into its existing Live Alerts system.

Advanced Protection Mode

This caller extra-secure mode successful Android 16 is for at-risk folks, for illustration nationalist figures, journalists, and activists, who request other protection for their integer lives. Google’s Advanced Protection already exists for Google accounts but now extends to Android 16, imposing reliable information settings connected apps and services to support your information safe. It includes checks connected representation to artifact exploits, USB protection, and guards against unsafe websites and spam calls and messages. A later merchandise will adhd intrusion discovery by keeping a imperishable end-to-end encrypted log from your instrumentality successful nan cloud, which tin beryllium shared and analyzed by a information master if you fishy there’s a problem.

AI-Powered Scam Detection

Sadly, fraud is large business. Most folks person seen a scam connected their telephone astatine immoderate point, whether disguised arsenic tech support, a prize, aliases a crypto finance opportunity. Google is utilizing on-device AI to spot scam texts pinch nan Scam Detection characteristic successful Google Messages. It runs locally on-device, truthful nary connection contented is shared, and shows a pop-up informing to folks erstwhile it discovers a suspected scam, informing them of nan consequence and offering nan opportunity to study and artifact nan scammer. Some permissions will besides beryllium blocked during telephone calls, truthful scammers tin nary longer locomotion group done nan process to sideload a malicious app.

Medical Records

Health Connect enables different health, fitness, and wellbeing apps to stock information covering your wellness successful definite categories (Activity, Body Measurement, Cycle Tracking, Nutrition, Sleep, and Vitals). Google is now adding support for Electronic Health Records (EHRs) utilizing nan Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources modular wide utilized by wellness attraction providers. It’s unclear precisely really this will activity aliases what information it will include, but it whitethorn make sharing wellness records easier.

Auracast Broadcast Support

As 1 of nan newest Bluetooth features, Auracast enables audio streaming to proceeding aids and different supported devices successful nationalist spaces. Several group tin usage it to link to nan aforesaid audio watercourse simultaneously and get audio from TVs successful nationalist spaces for illustration nan gym, for example, aliases watercourse audio straight to proceeding immunodeficiency astatine a nationalist concert. Android 16 supports broadcasting, truthful you tin spell to Settings > Connected devices > Audio sharing and take to stock audio from your instrumentality pinch adjacent devices that support Bluetooth LE Audio, which includes Auracast.

Better Support for Bigger Screens

While immoderate apps restrict resizing and surface orientation, Google is removing this default capacity successful Android 16. Every app should now accommodate to different surface sizes and facet ratios, including tablets and folding phones. Google besides wants developers to guarantee that app contented is displayed separator to edge.

Hide Sensitive Notifications

Google is redacting contented successful delicate notifications, specified arsenic one-time passwords, erstwhile it detects nan imaginable consequence of personification other seeing nan notification. This mightiness beryllium if you are not connected to your location Wi-Fi and haven’t unlocked your telephone successful a while.

More Legible Text

For folks pinch debased imagination and reduced opposition sensitivity, Google is detecting matter that mightiness beryllium an rumor and drafting a high-contrast colour container underneath it to guarantee nan matter is arsenic legible arsenic possible.

LE Audio Hearing Aids Features

There are a mates of notable caller features for folks utilizing Bluetooth LE Audio proceeding immunodeficiency pinch Android 16. First is nan action to move betwixt nan built-in microphones connected nan proceeding immunodeficiency and nan microphone connected your telephone for sound calls. Second is nan expertise to set nan ambient sound measurement picked up by your proceeding aid's microphones. Both could beryllium adjuvant successful noisy environments pinch a batch of inheritance noise.

Enhanced Camera for Pro Photographers

Google is pushing a big of mini camera improvements successful Android 16 for keen photographers. There’s hybrid car exposure, allowing a equilibrium of automatic and manual ISO and vulnerability control, precise colour somesthesia and tint adjustments, amended nighttime mode support for apps, and support for Ultra HDR images successful nan HEIC record format. Google is besides adding nan Advanced Professional Video codec for higher-quality video signaling and post-processing.

Windowing Apps

Have you ever wished Android was much for illustration Windows? Support for desktop windowing, enabling you to tally aggregate apps simultaneously, is successful nan works. Multitaskers will beryllium capable to resize windows, and nan caller characteristic will activity seamlessly pinch divided surface (just like nan caller iPadOS 26). Google is besides adding connected show support, truthful you tin connect an outer show to your Android instrumentality and observe the joys of a dual-screen setup. Currently portion of nan developer preview, this won't travel to your Android tablet until later this year.

Fresh Design

The latest improvement of Google’s Android creation connection is Material 3 Expressive. While it’s not a complete overhaul, it is giving Android a facelift pinch caller fresh animations, amended haptic feedback, much move colour themes, impactful fonts, and much chances to personalize your Android device. Google has done its homework, drafting connected 46 studies pinch much than 18,000 participants to make changes that group of each ages approved.

Before you get excessively excited, Material 3 Expressive won’t beryllium portion of nan June release, alternatively rolling retired connected Pixel phones first, later this year, and past connected different Android devices. Impatient folks whitethorn get a peek by signing up for nan Android Beta Program.

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