Joe Maring / Android Authority
If you’ve installed the stable version of Android 16 on your Pixel, you might be disappointed to find that the big visual refresh Google announced on May 13 is conspicuous by its absence. An unfortunate consequence of the new platform release schedule is that some of the more notable new Android 16 features won’t be arriving until the Android 16 QPR1 update in early September. That means that even though there’s plenty of goodness in the initial stable release — like Live Updates and adaptive apps — most people will have to wait a little longer before getting their eyes on the Material 3 Expressive redesign and trying out the nifty new desktop mode.
If you’re happy to run beta software on your daily driver, or you have a spare Pixel lying about, the QPR1 Beta has been available to test since May 20. It includes plenty of redesigned interfaces, fresh animations, updated typography, and new features. I’ve been testing out the beta, which is on its third version at the time of writing with QPR1 Beta 2, and there’s lots to dissect. Some of the changes are most welcome, while some of them have me scratching my head — let’s get into it.
The good Whenever Google makes substantial changes to Android’s UI, you can bet the notification shade and quick settings panel will be updated in some meaningful way. Android 16 is no exception, and the new quick settings toggles are probably my favourite upgrade in this release.
After being limited to just four wide tiles at the top of the notification shade since the introduction of Material You with Android 12, we’re now treated to editable tiles that can be 1×2 or 1×1. This means it’s possible to fit up to 8 toggles in the same space, and up to 16 if you swipe down again for the full quick settings panel. You can also mix and match single and double-width tiles to your liking.
Andy Walker / Android Authority
As well as more control over the appearance of quick settings toggles, another welcome change is the ability to switch Bluetooth or Do Not Disturb on or off with a single tap. If you use a 1×1 tile for either of these, a quick tap toggles them on/off, while a long press brings up a dialog with more info and settings. If you use the wider 1×2 tile, tapping the icon on the left toggles them on/off, tapping the text opens the dialog, and long pressing anywhere takes you to the full settings page. These now function more like they did before Android 12, which will please lots of users who were sad to see it change.
Moving north from the quick settings panel, we arrive at another sizable departure from the last few versions of Android — the status bar icons have been completely redesigned. This is likely to be divisive, as Google is essentially aping iOS icons here, but I quite like the new style. The WiFi icon now has three separate and very rounded sections. The cell signal icon is now made up of four increasingly tall bars, and the dual-SIM version is split into two horizontally, rather than showing two distinct signal icons for each one. The order of these two icons has also been swapped, iOS-style.
Most controversially, the battery icon is now lying down on its side with the battery percentage displayed inside it (if you’ve got this option turned on). It’s also color-coded — it’s green while charging, red when low, yellow when battery saver is activated, and white when it’s between 21 and 100% and off the charger. I’ll admit that the battery percentage is a little harder to read now as it’s smaller, but other than that, I think the new icons match Android 16’s expressive new look. It’s a shame Google had to copy Apple, though.
One way in which Google is particularly expressing the expressiveness of Material 3 Expressive is with the new motion physics system. The new animations have a spring in their step, with a less-than-subtle overshoot creating a natural, bouncy feeling when you expand a notification group or interact with a quick settings toggle.
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