- The Android 16 Beta 4 brings dynamic colors to an AOD style.
- The launcher's long-press menu gets an Apps List, while the recents get two new options.
- Themed icons no longer appear to be in beta and the battery health option has disappeared for some users.
Google has been testing Android 16 for over five months. The version hasn’t brought tons of visual changes, but like Android 15, it focuses more on the security and user experience front. Android 16 reached platform stability with Beta 3, and now Google’s rolling out Android 16 Beta 4. It’s supposed to be the last update before the final release in May, and here’s everything new in it.
Android 16 Beta 4 is available on Pixel 6 and above devices. It brings a few changes and improvements across the board. Starting with the Always on Display, some always-on clock styles now adapt to the dynamic theming. This is more (and only) apparent on the bubbly AOD clock style. You can now see a slight hint of hues surrounding the edges of numbers.
There’s another change in the Wallpaper and style section, where the Themed icons toggle no longer shows the text “Beta”. The Pixel launcher’s long press list now gets an Apps list shortcut to quickly open the app drawer.
Besides, users report the Battery Health feature has been mysteriously removed from the Battery Settings page for some users. It was present in our Pixel 6 unit, though.
The menu that shows up after long pressing the app icons in recent menu now has two extra options — Screenshot and Select. The former is pretty straightforward, while the latter is to select the content in the app.
The Gesture Navigation page now houses a “Try a demo” pill that takes users to the same intuitive tutorial that they come across when setting up the device for the first time. Lastly, the Quick Settings Media Player artwork now appears a tad bit darker, on the lock screen, too.
The last few beta updates have added many new Android 16 features, and we’ve compiled a comprehensive list for the same. While many rumored features are behind a server side switch, waiting to see the daylight, we expect Google to roll them all out in QPR Betas that will soon follow.
What are your thoughts on Android 16? What are some of the features you are expecting in the final release? Let us know in the comments.
