With so few Pixels out in the wild, we sometimes forget to talk about Google’s vision for what Android should look like. I have to say, Android 16 as Google envisions, is looking mighty fine.
Google released what they are calling the biggest update in years. It’s called Material 3 Expressive and is “all about making your device feel unique to you.”
In short, they say Material 3 Expressive gives you new ways to show your style and personality, delivers smooth interactions and surfaces glanceable, helpful information.
I like the aesthetic. It’s playful and colourful and looks like a breath of fresh air:
What Google says about the update:
Nearly four years ago, we brought our award-winning Material You design to billions of Android phones and tablets, making them feel more human, approachable and grounded in your needs. Material 3 Expressive builds on Material You, bringing even more customization options so you can truly express yourself.
Material 3 Expressive feels even more fluid and introduces a system of more natural, springy animations meant to bring a moment of delight to everyday routines. For example, when you dismiss a notification, the others next to it subtly respond to your drag. And when you snap it off the stack, you feel a satisfying haptic rumble.
You get similar moments like this across your device, like when you’re dismissing an app in your recent apps screen, fidgeting with the volume slider or flinging down the shade. We even subtly blur the shade background to provide a sense of depth, so the motion feels lightweight and you’re able to stay aware of the apps you’re using in the background.
Android is also getting updated dynamic color themes, responsive components and emphasized typography so you can customize your phone to your style and preferences. And we are working to bring these visual choices across Google apps like Google Photos, Fitbit and Gmail.
The design balances modern aesthetics with improved functionality. You can now customize Quick Settings to squeeze in more of your favorite actions like Flashlight and Do Not Disturb. And we’re making sure that your important stuff doesn’t get buried in your notifications.
Beyond the visual changes
It’s not just about a new design language, there is some other stuff that’s good to see.
Live Updates: Persistent notifications for real-time activities such as ride-sharing or food delivery, similar to iOS’s Live Activities.
The Live Updates feature helps you easily track progress notifications from select apps. For example, when following a live game, you’ll get a glanceable Live Update right on your lock screen, showing you real-time scores and key plays. These dynamic, real-time updates from sports, rideshare, and navigation apps are front and centre so you won’t miss them.
AI-Powered Wallpaper Effects: Dynamic wallpapers that can reflect current weather conditions or add effects like rain and fog to photos.
Advanced Protection Mode: Enhanced security features, including USB protection, AI-driven scam detection, and theft detection locking.
Linux Terminal Support: Ability to run GNU applications within a virtual machine, bringing desktop-like capabilities to mobile devices.
Improved Photo Picker: Seamless integration with cloud-based media services, allowing users to select photos from various sources without switching apps.
Advanced Protection
We need to talk about this a little more. With Android 16, Google is introducing Advanced Protection Mode, a set of features designed to guard against physical and digital threats in real time.
Key features of Advanced Protection Mode include:
- USB Protection: Automatically disables USB data transfer when the device is locked, preventing unauthorized access through USB ports. This is particularly useful in public spaces where your device might be at risk of being tampered with while charging.
- Scam and Theft Detection: Using AI, the system can recognize patterns of suspicious behavior—like rapid movement suggesting theft or odd login attempts—and can take automatic actions such as locking the phone, hiding notifications, or even sounding an alarm.
- Stronger App Permissions: When activated, Advanced Protection Mode restricts certain sensitive app permissions and limits the ability to install apps from unknown sources, dramatically reducing the attack surface.
- Lockdown Enhancements: An upgraded “Lockdown” mode makes it easier to disable biometric login and all forms of wireless communication with a single button press, ideal for emergencies or border crossings.
This feature isn’t turned on by default but can be enabled via the Settings app under Security & Privacy > Advanced Protection. While it may slightly limit some conveniences for the sake of security, it’s a worthwhile tradeoff for those seeking maximum protection.
What say you?
As of now, Android 16 is in the beta testing phase, with the QPR1 Beta 1 available for eligible Pixel devices and some partner devices too. The stable release comes out later this year.
What do you think about Android 16? It appears these smartphone guys saw that the maturity of their OSes was started to affect enthusiasm and therefore sales of phones and have all decided visual overhauls are the way to go.
Samsung introduced a nice One UI overhaul and Apple will be introducing a major overhaul with iOS 19 later this year. I love it, things had gotten too stagnant for a bit there.
It’ll be interesting to see how much of Material 3 Expressive makes it into heavily-skinned versions of Android from OEMs like Samsung, Xiaomi, and Oppo. Will the expressive visuals survive One UI, ColorOS, and MIUI, or will they water it down?
That’s rhetorical because for the most part, those other guys have their own visual languages. Samsung just released its own vision for what Android looks like and has never really embraced the Material design language quite like Google sees it.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply