Android 15 may remain an upcoming attraction for many Android users, but Google has now crossed the line and is in production on Android 16 with the release of the first beta version of that mobile OS.
This build, unlike the Android 16 developer previews that shipped in November and December, is available to both developers and early adopters, the company says, though we advise against playing with beta versions of the OS at any time. devices you rely on every day.
Google’s notes for this beta begin with a call for developers to make their apps “fit” for the larger screens of Android tablets and foldable phones—a call it’s reinforcing in Android 16 by “phasing out the ability of apps to limit screen orientation and resizing on large screens.”
On screens of all sizes, Android 16 will add “Live Updates,” which the release notes define as “a new class of notifications that help users monitor and quickly access important ongoing activities” that can get “a prominent home on the lock screen”. “
That description evokes both the “Now” bar on Samsung’s new Galaxy S25 series and the “Dynamic Island” that Apple first shipped in 2022. But Google seems intent on making Live Updates a less user-friendly experience. lock screen rather than those interface elements: “Because live updates are always treated with high priority, their use is only suggested for use cases of travel, food distribution and navigation.”
Two other features of Android 16 should catch the eye of photographers and videographers. This release will help third-party apps with their camera functions to take advantage of Android’s night vision photo mode. And it will add support for the Advanced Professional Video format, which the notes describe as a “perceptually lossless” codec that supports ultra-high definition video and high dynamic range color.
Artificial intelligence figures into this release as well, as mentioned in a mention in this space of watching Google’s plans to expand support for extensions that allow third-party apps to connect with its Gemini AI. So does IoT, in the form of a new RangingManager that uses tools like Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi and ultra-wideband signaling to estimate how far your phone is from a compatible remote device.
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In addition, Android 16 includes support for vertical text, which the notes call “particularly useful for languages like Japanese that typically use vertical writing systems,” accessibility improvements to improve alternative descriptions of on-screen elements, and “predictive background animations ” that preview what a swipe back in an app will cause.
Thursday’s post says Android 16 remains on schedule to ship sometime in the second quarter. That would make it land on devices — apparently starting first with Google’s Pixel series phones — three months earlier in the year than past Android releases. Google said in November that this schedule is intended to “better align with the launch schedule of devices in our ecosystem so that more devices can receive the major Android release sooner.”
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About Rob Pegoraro
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