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Owners of the Pixel 6 and newer devices will be able to install the first Android 16 beta
Photo Credit: Google
Android 16 Beta 1 was released on Friday, allowing developers and enthusiasts to try out the upcoming major update to Google's smartphone operating system. The new release is only available for recent Google Pixel models, and the company has revealed some of the new features that will be part of Android 16, when it is rolled out to users in the coming months. This year, Android 16 is expected to be released in Q2 2024, which is earlier than Google's typical Q3 (or even Q4) release schedule.
Google says the first Android 16 beta introduces a feature called Live Updates, which shows the status of "ongoing activities" such as food delivery apps or Google Maps navigation. The company says that apps will be able to display custom icons for these progress indicators, that will be shown in the notification list. If this sounds familiar, it's because Apple has offered the same functionality with Live Activities since iOS 16.
Apps will need to offer support for resizable windows with Android 16
Photo Credit: Google
Previous versions of Android introduced a predictive back animation while using gesture based navigation, allowing users to see a preview of the app that would appear when swiping and holding the back gesture. Google is now adding the same functionality to the back button when using the 3-button navigation mode on Android 16.
Android 16 will also bring improvements to camera functionality on compatible smartphones, with support for the Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec that enables up to 8K video recording, multi-view video, HDR 10 and HDR 10+ support, and perceptually lossless video quality. Apps will also be able to detect low-light conditions using new application programming interfaces (APIs).
Google also says that apps must introduce support for resizeable windows, if a device has a display with a pixel density of 600dpi (or higher). Apps targeting API level 36 (Android 16) will be able to opt out this year, but the company says that apps designed for API level 37 will not have an opt-out option in 2026.
The first Android 16 beta is available to download on recent Google Pixel smartphones and the Google Pixel Tablet. This means that developers or enthusiasts who have enrolled their supported devices, will be able to download Android 16 Beta 1 has an over the air (OTA) update.
Google says that Android 16 Beta 1 is compatible with the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 8a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, and the Pixel Fold. Meanwhile, Pixel Tablet owners can also download the new Android 16 beta.
It's worth noting that Android 16 Beta 1 is pre-release software that is likely to contain bugs and other issues that could impact day to day performance. As a result, it should not be installed on 'daily driver' or primary devices. Google is expected to release Android 16 by Q2 2025, which means we can expect to see a stable version by the end of June.
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