Android 16 looked to be one of the most impressive upgrades to the mobile operating system in recent times. Google teased some seriously cool features that would elevate Android to the next level. However, although some of those expected features made their way to the final release, some did not.
Because some of the more hotly anticipated features have yet to materialize, Android 16 seems (on the surface) to be kinda blah. But don’t be fooled. Even though the big UI changes were held back, there’s still a lot to love about what was released.
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One thing to keep in mind is that Google released Android 16 early. Usually, those major updates are held back until late summer/fall. (Android 15 was released in September 2024.) Why did Google release this latest update three months early? It’s pretty simple: With new Android devices set to release this summer, it’s now a safe bet they’ll ship with the latest release. When the Pixel 9 line of phones was released last year, they shipped with Android 14 because 15 wasn’t ready. That was a big disappointment to Pixel fans everywhere. To avoid this, Google released a “version” of Android 16 to ensure it would be ready for the release of the Pixel 10 phones.
In addition, Google has decided to speed up the release of Android, with two releases each year (probably so they can ensure the latest Pixel devices always have the latest version).
With that out of the way, let’s first talk about what I love in Android 16.
What’s to love?
OK, the “what’s to love” section is a bit thin at the moment. But that doesn’t mean it’s not important, because Android 16 brings a few new features that are key to user security. With Android 16, securing your phone became a whole lot easier.
Within Settings > “Security & privacy,” you’ll find an entry called Advanced Protection. When enabled, this all-or-nothing security feature helps defend against online attacks, malicious applications, insecure connections, and other threats. But, like I said, this is all-or-nothing. When you enable Advanced Protection, it’s all in, and you can’t customize it. That’s fine for the majority of users, but you’ll want to understand three things:
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- Apps on your device can see if Advanced Protection is enabled.
- Devices with 2G protection available will have 2G connections blocked (with the exception of emergency calling).
- Some websites may not load properly.
Unless you have a good reason not to enable Advanced Protection, I highly recommend you do so (it does require a restart).
There’s also less clutter in the notification shade now because notifications are automatically bundled for each app. This will help to keep your notifications organized and looking less like an alphabet soup of information.
Android 16 also improves battery life. With Pixel devices, there’s even a new “Battery health” page (Settings > Battery > Battery health) that displays your battery percentage, allows you to change charging optimization and enable battery health assistance, and gives you battery health tips.
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Speaking of battery, Android 16 better uses AI to help optimize your battery, so you’ll get even more usage from a full charge. I’ve noticed the difference. Thanks to Android’s AI, I’m finding my battery drains a bit slower than it did in Android 15. Since upgrading, I’ve consistently ended my day (which, granted, comes around 6 p.m. when I dock my phone) in the 70% area (as opposed to the 60% range).
For those who use the Linux system on Android, the terminal app now has a tabbed interface, which is really handy. With the tabbed UI, you can run an SSH session in one tab while doing other things in other tabs.
OK, now that I’ve told you about some of the features that found their way into Android 16, let’s talk about what didn’t.
What’s missing?
The big thing missing is Material 3 Expressive. This was supposed to be the big change for Android, building on Material Design and adding more naturally feeling animations, new icon shapes, background blur effects, improved color themes, home screen enhancements, and UI redesigns for many Google apps.
I was excited about this feature (especially the background blur effects), but alas, it has yet to arrive. When will it arrive? The closest estimation is “later this year.” If I had to guess, Material 3 Expressive will arrive in time for the Pixel 10 release. Surely Google wants to provide the full Android 16 experience with its new devices; otherwise, it would be perceived as a failure to deliver.
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Another big feature that’s missing in this first Android 16 release is Desktop Mode, similar to Samsung’s DeX mode. Desktop Mode is exactly what it sounds like: Plug your Android Phone into an external display, and you’ll experience a desktop-like environment.
Sadly, not yet. You won’t even find the “Enable desktop experience features” option in Settings > System > Developer options (which is where it was in the beta).
Looks like we’re going to have to wait for those two features (which were often touted as the biggest new additions to Android 16).
Patience, patience, patience
In this never-ending cycle of releases, it gets harder and harder to remain patient. I’m fairly certain we’ll see these two big features arrive when the Pixel 10 devices are released, so it should only be a few short months. Even so, those two missing pieces make the release of Android 16 feel a bit uninspired. When those two additions find their way into the OS, however, it will feel like a brand new OS.
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Source: Robotics - zdnet.com
