Android 16’s first beta is right here with main pill enhancements and iOS-like Stay Updates

The wait is lastly over: the beta program for Android 16 is now open! Google simply launched Android 16 Beta 1, the primary of 4 betas for this yr’s main Android launch. Beta 1 is the primary preview construct of Android 16 that may be put in over-the-air by customers, and it brings some thrilling new options like improved app adaptivity, Stay Updates, APV help, and extra. Right here’s every part it’s essential to learn about Android 16 Beta 1.

What’s new in Android 16 Beta 1?

Google’s submit saying Android 16 Beta 1 mentions a whole lot of new developer options, however since I’m positive most of you might be right here for the user-facing options, I’ll lump the developer modifications collectively on the finish of this part. Builders studying this piece shouldn’t skip to the tip, although, as a number of of those user-facing modifications are literally fairly related to improvement.

Improved app adaptivity

Whereas most of the greatest Android apps are optimized for big display units, there’s an overwhelmingly massive variety of apps that are not so adaptive. Cautious consideration is required to make an app look nice on massive display units, which requires time, cash, and energy on the a part of app builders. As a result of the variety of tablets, Chromebooks, and book-style foldables that may run Android apps is dwarfed by the variety of smartphones, most builders don’t hassle to optimize their apps for big display units.

Though these massive display units can nonetheless run these apps simply high-quality, they may look wonky due to restrictions the builders placed on them. For instance, many builders prohibit their apps to portrait orientation to allow them to’t be rotated. It’s potential to override this restriction via a function launched in Android 14 QPR1, however Google has one other answer in thoughts for Android 16.

Android 16 is now phasing out the flexibility for apps to limit display orientation and resizability on massive screens. That is just like options that a number of OEMs have carried out in recent times to permit customers to run apps at any window dimension and facet ratio of their selecting.

Apps that focus on Android 16 shall be resizable on massive display units no matter their manifest attributes. Google advises builders to test how their apps behave when resized and to implement an adaptive format if potential. Video games are excluded from this modification, however all different apps have to be prepared for this modification to enter impact by subsequent yr’s Android 17 launch, as that’s when Google will take away the opt-out mechanism.

Stay Updates

Android 16 is introducing a brand new class of notifications known as Stay Updates. Stay Updates are notifications supposed for vital ongoing actions, like an incoming rideshare pickup, meals supply alert, navigation, and extra. These notifications are prominently displayed on the lock display in Android 16 in order that they aren’t misplaced amidst different less-timely notifications.

If Android’s Stay Updates function sounds just like iOS’ Stay Actions, that’s as a result of it’s. The intent behind the function is identical, even when its placement on the lock display is totally different. It’s good that Google is doing this now, as we’ve lately seen OEMs like OnePlus and Samsung implement their very own takes on the function. OnePlus’ Stay Alerts trumps the iPhone’s Dynamic Island in some methods, and the brand new Samsung Galaxy S25 has a scrollable Now Bar. Each implementations lack help for a lot of third-party app notifications, which is what Stay Updates in Android 16 might resolve.

Builders can implement Stay Updates by utilizing the brand new ProgressStyle notification template, which helps customized colours for segments and factors, customized icons for the beginning, finish, and present progress monitoring — nonetheless, the latter is just urged for “journey sharing, meals supply, and navigation use circumstances.” It’s value noting that Google hasn’t talked about how Stay Updates will seem on the standing bar, which primarily based alone digging might be seen as outstanding chips.

Assist for Superior Skilled Video (APV) codec

Android 16 brings help for the Superior Skilled Video (APV) codec, a codec that’s designed for skilled stage top quality video recording and submit manufacturing. This codec was developed by Samsung and has the next options:

• Perceptually lossless video high quality (near uncooked video high quality)
• Low complexity and excessive throughput intra-frame-only coding (with out pixel area prediction) to higher help modifying workflows
• Assist for top bit-rate vary up to a couple Gbps for 2K, 4K and 8K decision content material, enabled by a light-weight entropy coding scheme
• Body tiling for immersive content material and for enabling parallel encoding and decoding
• Assist for varied chroma sampling codecs and bit-depths
• Assist for a number of decoding and re-encoding with out extreme visible high quality degradation
• Assist multi-view video and auxiliary video like depth, alpha, and preview
• Assist for HDR10/10+ and user-defined metadata

Google says Android 16 will implement help for the APV 422-10 Profile that gives YUV 422 coloration sampling together with 10-bit encoding and for goal bitrates of as much as 2Gbps.

Samsung did a number of talks at its annual developer convention on this codec in case you’re considering studying extra about it. I captured these screenshots from the speak that show the advantages of the brand new codec. First, right here’s a comparability of the standard between a “informal video” and a “skilled video.”

There’s clearly an enormous distinction between the 2 once you zoom in and pixel peep. Now, right here’s a comparability between a video encoded in a “typical skilled video codec” and Samsung’s APV codec.

The variations are barely seen right here, which is sweet. It signifies that Samsung’s codec achieves related high quality to traditional skilled video codecs however with the extra advantages talked about above.

Predictive again animations now enabled by default for apps

Whereas Android 15 enabled the predictive again system animations by default, it didn’t allow them by default for apps. As an alternative, apps nonetheless need to decide in, which is why you most likely haven’t seen the predictive again gesture in lots of apps.

Android 16 now permits the predictive again system animations for apps that focus on the brand new launch, nonetheless. Apps that focus on Android 16 or increased working on an Android 16 machine could have the back-to-home, cross-task, and cross-activity animations enabled by default. Moreover, onBackPressed is now not known as and KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK is now not dispatched in Android 16.

Apps can nonetheless briefly decide out of predictive again, however Google recommends updating to make use of supported again navigation APIs.

Predictive again help for 3-button navigation

As well as, predictive again help is now obtainable for 3-button navigation, as I beforehand reported. This implies you’ll be able to long-press the again button to preview the place it’ll take you.

Extra Gemini extensions coming quickly

The Galaxy S25 comes with new Gemini extensions for a number of Samsung inventory apps. Google now says it’s working to “make this performance obtainable to extra apps with extra OEMs on extra units throughout extra type components.” That’s a mouthful, but it surely doesn’t clarify the way it plans to attain this enlargement. Fortunately, I believe I understand how. Google’s been engaged on a new app operate API for Android 16 that lets Gemini faucet into the performance supplied by apps. That is probably what the corporate is referring to in right now’s announcement, and hopefully it’ll share extra particulars quickly.

Developer modifications in Android 16 Beta 1

• Generic ranging APIs
  • Android 16 provides a brand new RangingManager API that “supplies methods to find out the space and angle on supported {hardware} between the native machine and a distant machine.” The API helps a wide range of ranging applied sciences together with Bluetooth Channel Sounding, Bluetooth RSSI-based ranging, Extremely-Wideband, and WiFi RTT.
• Digital camera evening mode scene detection:
  • Android 16 provides a brand new EXTENSION_NIGHT_MODE_INDICATOR throughout the CaptureResult of the Camera2 API. This API lets apps that use the Camera2 Evening mode extension some units present to know when it’s optimum to truly use it.
• Vertical textual content:
  • Android 16 provides low-level help for rendering and measuring textual content vertically. That is notably helpful for languages like Japanese that generally use vertical writing methods. This help is meant for library builders.
• Supplemental descriptions:
  • Android 16 provides a setSupplementalDescription API that can be utilized to offer textual content that provides details about a ViewGroup with out overriding data from its youngsters. This may be useful in eventualities the place you need to label issues like a drop down (e.g. “Font Household”) whereas preserving the present choice for accessibility (e.g. “Roboto”).
• Inside ART modifications:
  • Google warns that Android 16 might break apps that leverage inner constructions of the Android Runtime (ART). It’s because ART’s inner constructions are altering to assist enhance its efficiency. Units working Android 12 and later can even see these modifications via an upcoming Google Play System Replace.
• Fastened charge work scheduling optimization:
  • When focusing on Android 16, at most one missed execution of scheduleAtFixedRate shall be instantly executed when the app returns to a legitimate lifecycle.
• Ordered broadcast precedence scope now not world:
  • Broadcast supply order utilizing the android:precedence attribute or IntentFilter#setPriority() throughout totally different processes won’t be assured in Android 16. Broadcast priorities for ordered broadcasts are solely revered throughout the identical app course of quite than throughout all system processes.

Android 16 Beta 1 builds upon the options that Google beforehand launched in Android 16 Developer Preview 1 and Android 16 Developer Preview 2, so try our earlier protection on each releases to be taught what else is new in Android 16. And naturally, maintain an eye fixed out for our protection of the brand new user-facing options in Android 16 Beta 1 that Google didn’t discuss in its announcement.

When will Google launch Android 16?

Google plans to launch Android 16 someday in Q2 of 2025. Whereas we haven’t confirmed the precise launch date of Android 16 but (one leak hints it’ll be June 3, 2025), we do have the overall launch schedule, which is as follows:

With Beta 1 now out, there’s solely 3 extra Android 16 betas left till the secure launch in Q2. If we needed to guess, Android 16 Beta 2 is the place a few of the extra thrilling modifications will seem, as Android 16 Beta 3 in March would be the working system’s “Platform Stability” milestone. Platform Stability is when the APIs and app-facing system behaviors are finalized for a brand new Android model; it’s additionally when Google opens up the Play Retailer to apps focusing on the newest model.

As soon as Android 16 is launched in Q2 of 2025, Google will begin pushing out incremental updates to the platform that convey safety fixes and new user-facing options. The primary quarterly launch of Android 16 will roll out in Q3 of 2025 with a ton of modifications we don’t learn about but. The second quarterly launch of Android 16 in This fall of 2025 is a bit particular because it’ll convey new developer APIs together with an API bump, and it’s even potential it’ll have its personal advertising and marketing identify. We’ll have to attend and see.

set up Android 16 Beta 1

The simplest option to set up Android 16 Beta 1 in your Pixel 6 or later is by enrolling it within the Android Beta program. When you’ve enrolled your machine, Google will push an OTA improve to your machine that installs Android 16 Beta 1.

In the event you’re at present working Android 15 QPR2 Beta 3 in your Pixel machine and want to obtain the ultimate secure replace of Android 15 QPR2 in March, then you definately’ll must ignore the OTA replace to Android 16 Beta 1 that Google might have pushed out to your machine. In the event you take this replace, then you definately’ll be on observe to obtain future Android 16 betas and received’t be capable of migrate to a secure construct till Google releases the Android 16 secure replace in Q2.

To check Android 16 Beta 1 with no supported Pixel telephone, you’ll be able to both boot it up in your telephone utilizing Google’s Generic System Picture (GSI) or emulate it utilizing the emulator construct supplied in Android Studio. The previous might require your telephone’s bootloader to be unlocked, so be warned. Builders who decide to check Beta 1 on their PC are advisable to put in the newest Android Studio function drop code-named Meerkat to reap the benefits of all its new options.