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[Google Pixel Update📱] Android 16 QPR2 Beta 3.2 now available!
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GPsu has been updated as of April 1
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Summary
- System colors/themed icons are currently broken in Android 16 Beta 2. A new bug makes the preset color palettes within the Wallpaper & style screen almost completely unresponsive, requiring numerous taps to select.
- While the same color options can be accessed through the System colors menu, the main Wallpaper & style screen presets are severely affected by unresponsiveness or extreme lag.
- Neither restarting the device nor toggling the settings within the customization screen resolves the bug.
Android 16 Beta 2 has a new System color/themed icon bug, making this the second time the tech giant has (somewhat) broken the tool in the span of three months.
For reference, the last time themed icons caused headaches was with the December Pixel Feature Drop, where a bug forced dark mode themed icons to appear in light mode during the first instance after updating. Toggling through the themes once fixed the issue at the time, but users noticed that their dark mode icons were still lighter than usual. Google eventually addressed the issue with the January 2025 Pixel Security Update.
This time around, Google seems to have introduced a new bug with today's Android 16 Beta 2. For what it's worth, themed icons are still in beta, and a bug connected to the feature showing up in a beta OS update is perhaps not entirely surprising. It is, however, frustrating.
If you've updated to Android 16 Beta 2, head to the Wallpaper & style by long-tapping your home screen, or via Settings → Wallpaper & style. Now, try switching to one of the icon shade presets (the automatically generated color palettes based on your wallpaper) right under the home screen preview. You can't. Well, to be precise, you can, but only after like 25+ taps (yes, I counted).
It's as if the presets don't have a touch target at all, or have an extreme delay in processing touch, essentially rendering the shortcuts useless.
As seen in the first GIF above, heading to the three dot menu on the right of the presets takes you into the System colors menu, where the same color options can be selected without a problem. The issue only arises on the central Wallpaper & style screen.
Neither restarting the device, nor toggling through the setting on the customization screen seems to fix the issue. We'll continue to monitor the bug and update this article if a fix is found.
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Foldables make use of hall (effect) sensors to determine the open or closed state. To prevent interference from magnetic accessories, the Pixel Fold might add “robust open/close detection” with Android 16.
With Android 16 Beta 2, we’ve received one report of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold prompting a user to “Turn on robust open/close detection: If you’re using a magnetic accessory, turn on robust open/close detection in Settings. This helps your Pixel Fold more accurately detect if it’s open or closed.”
This notification from Pixel System Service features a “Turn on” button, and suggests that you’ll find a corresponding toggle in the Settings app. However, as of Beta 2, that preference does not yet appear. (This is somewhat similar to the initial rollout of Limit to 80% charging optimization.)
To date, Pixel Fold and Pixel 9 Pro Fold owners have noticed how putting a magnet, like third-party MagSafe rings, on the back of the closed foldable can briefly turn off the screen. This is due to how foldables leverage an internal magnet and hall sensor to determine the open/close state. Accessories can interfere with that functionality.
Google looks to be readying a solution with “robust open/close detection.” It’s not clear what other hardware will be leveraged to reduce interference and false positives. This will hopefully also come to the original Pixel Fold.
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Google has been preparing a “Battery health” settings page for Pixel since October of 2022, and work continues with Android 16 Beta 2.
About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.
Version 1.1.0.717462792 (versus 1.1.0.697513890 on Android 15 and 16 Beta 1) of Settings Services has the latest strings about Battery Health page.
As we previously enabled in Android 13 QPR1 (as shown above), with work continuing in future versions, this new page in Settings > Battery > Battery health will let you “View battery health status and tips to extend your battery.” The latter just takes the form of support articles, like: Turn on Adaptive Charging, Avoid extreme temperatures, Turn off features that you don’t need, and Update to the latest software. There’s also a shortcut to Charging optimization.
You can see the latest Android 16 Beta 2 version of Battery health that we enabled today below:
One of the more interesting aspects is Battery capacity, or the “estimated percentage of charge the battery can currently hold compared to a new standard battery.”
Google will offer the ability to “Improve battery measurements” through a recalibration process that takes a few weeks:
- <string name=”bh_banner_recalibration_message_summary”>Your battery is recalibrating. This process may take a few weeks. When it\u2019s finished, the battery capacity will be updated.</string>
- <string name=”bh_status_indicator_status_recalibration”>Recalibration in progress</string>
When “Battery capacity is reduced,” “You may notice your battery lasts less time between charges.”
It remains to be seen whether Google will actually launch it with Android 16. The Pixel’s most recent battery addition was device temperature in December.
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Google announced “Live Notifications” are coming to Android 16, and now a demo app is making it possible to better see how this feature will work.
With the first Android 16 beta release, Google announced that it would be launching Live Notifications with this upcoming OS update. As the company describes, this is a “new class of notifications that help users monitor and quickly access important ongoing activities.” Google specifically called out “rideshare, delivery, and navigation” apps as examples of what might use this functionality. If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because this sounds a whole lot like Live Activities on iOS.
Google hasn’t offered a full look at how this functionality will work – only showing a brief preview – but developer Viktor Mykhaliv created a demo app to show it off, and Android Authority used it to show the full experience.
Essentially, there are two pieces of Live Notifications in Android 16. The first is to show up in the notification tray and show progress, similar to how many apps have “faked” this functionality for a while now. The second piece is what makes it stand out, though, with a “chip” in the status bar. Android already uses this chip for phone calls, screen recordings, and most recently Gemini Live, but the same feature will soon be leveraged by Live Notifications.
Tapping on the status bar chip reveals a larger notification separate from the notification tray, essentially keeping the data in view at all times. These notifications are also pushed to the top of the tray, and show up differently on the always-on display lock screen. Users will be able to turn off Live Notifications on an app-by-app basis as well, the AA post shows.
Notably, this all works pretty much identically to how Samsung has introduced “Live Notifications” in One UI 7 on the Galaxy S25 series. That feature is currently locked down to Google Maps and a handful of other apps on Samsung’s Android 15 skin.
None of this is fully finalized as of yet, but it’s shaping up to be a handy new feature in Android 16. Google’s accelerated release schedule will see Android 16’s final release around May/June, while the beta program is ongoing for Pixel devices.
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TL;DR
The reason most people take a screenshot on Android is to share what they see with other people, and Android can handle that sort of thing quite easily. Until recently, Android hasn’t needed to support taking HDR screenshots because the vast majority of content we access has been in SDR. With HDR content becoming more and more popular, though, people are inevitably going to take screenshots that include HDR elements. Thankfully, Google is finally adding HDR screenshot support in this year’s Android 16 release.
To display HDR content, devices need HDR displays that support a wider color gamut than the relatively limited sRGB standard. While some modern Android phones and tablets feature HDR displays, the majority of content is still in SDR.
Critically, even screenshots taken of HDR content on these devices are currently saved in SDR. This is because Android hasn’t been preserving the additional color information when encoding screenshot images; with the encoding process for the SDR screenshot format, additional color information from the HDR content is lost.
With the introduction of end-to-end support for HDR video in Android 13, Google had to update Android’s screenshotting algorithm so screenshots would almost match what’s on screen. However, since screenshots remained in SDR format, HDR regions within screenshots would appear dimmer while SDR content would appear as bright as HDR content.
Android 14 further complicated things by introducing support for HDR images, i.e. Ultra HDR. Because HDR images are often displayed within SDR app UIs, Google had to devise a way to encode both the SDR UI and the HDR image in a single SDR screenshot. Because screenshots remained in SDR, Google’s solution was to brighten the app’s UI and clip HDR highlights. The end result is that screenshots don’t truly capture what you’re actually seeing.
Left: A screenshot of an HDR video overlaid on top of a Chrome page containing Ultra HDR. Right: A screenshot of an HDR video overlaid on top of the Settings app with subsequent screenshots. Both screenshots were taken on Android 14. Source: Google.
Left: A screenshot of an HDR video overlaid on top of a Chrome page containing Ultra HDR. Right: A screenshot of an HDR video overlaid on top of the Settings app with subsequent screenshots. Both screenshots were taken on Android 15 QPR1, which uses a tonemapper to preserve UI colors and HDR highlights. Source: Google.
Finally, Google is implementing support for true HDR screenshots in Android 16. In Android 16 Beta 2, I found that screenshots of HDR content were saved in HDR format. When I viewed these screenshots in the Photos app on my Pixel phone, I immediately saw my screen brighten as HDR highlights started to pop. I confirmed this by comparing screenshots of the same HDR image taken before and after updating my Pixel 7 Pro to Android 16 Beta 2. The pre-update screenshot was in SDR, while the post-update screenshot was in HDR.
Digging through Android’s source code, I spotted several references to a “true HDR screenshots” feature in SurfaceFlinger, a system service that plays a critical role in screen rendering on Android. When the “true HDR screenshots” feature is enabled, HDR content can be screenshotted without tone mapping.
Display analyst Dylan Raga and GitHub user ledoge inspected the HDR screenshots that Android 16 produces and confirmed that they’re PNG files with HDR gainmaps embedded in them. Most conventional tools are unable to detect these gainmaps, but a specialized PNG inspector was able to detect them. These gainmaps are what allow the screenshots to appear as HDR when viewed on Android 16 devices but as SDR on other devices.
It’s unclear why Google stuck with PNG for HDR screenshots instead of a format supported by Ultra HDR such as JPEG. Perhaps they wanted to avoid potential JPEG compression artifacts, especially when cropping. Hopefully Google officially shares more details on how HDR screenshots in Android 16 work so we can get a better idea of how to share them between devices.
- Android 16 is implementing support for true HDR screenshots, enabling you to take screenshots of HDR content.
- This capability is live in Android 16 Beta 2 and builds upon the previous work that Google did to support HDR in Android screenshots.
- However, HDR screenshots captured by Android aren’t easy to view on other devices.
The reason most people take a screenshot on Android is to share what they see with other people, and Android can handle that sort of thing quite easily. Until recently, Android hasn’t needed to support taking HDR screenshots because the vast majority of content we access has been in SDR. With HDR content becoming more and more popular, though, people are inevitably going to take screenshots that include HDR elements. Thankfully, Google is finally adding HDR screenshot support in this year’s Android 16 release.
What is HDR?
HDR, or high dynamic range, refers to images or videos with a wider range of brightness and colors than standard dynamic range (SDR) content. The result is more realistic visuals with brighter highlights, deeper shadows, and greater detail, making images appear more lifelike. Basically, HDR aims to capture and display a greater range of light and dark tones, closer to what our eyes would perceive in the real world.To display HDR content, devices need HDR displays that support a wider color gamut than the relatively limited sRGB standard. While some modern Android phones and tablets feature HDR displays, the majority of content is still in SDR.
Critically, even screenshots taken of HDR content on these devices are currently saved in SDR. This is because Android hasn’t been preserving the additional color information when encoding screenshot images; with the encoding process for the SDR screenshot format, additional color information from the HDR content is lost.
With the introduction of end-to-end support for HDR video in Android 13, Google had to update Android’s screenshotting algorithm so screenshots would almost match what’s on screen. However, since screenshots remained in SDR format, HDR regions within screenshots would appear dimmer while SDR content would appear as bright as HDR content.
Android 14 further complicated things by introducing support for HDR images, i.e. Ultra HDR. Because HDR images are often displayed within SDR app UIs, Google had to devise a way to encode both the SDR UI and the HDR image in a single SDR screenshot. Because screenshots remained in SDR, Google’s solution was to brighten the app’s UI and clip HDR highlights. The end result is that screenshots don’t truly capture what you’re actually seeing.
Left: A screenshot of an HDR video overlaid on top of a Chrome page containing Ultra HDR. Right: A screenshot of an HDR video overlaid on top of the Settings app with subsequent screenshots. Both screenshots were taken on Android 14. Source: Google.
HDR in Android screenshots
In Android 15 QPR1, the operating system introduced a local tone-mapping algorithm for HDR screenshots. This algorithm both preserves UI colors and prevents clipping HDR highlights, resulting in a significant improvement to taking screenshots of HDR content. Even with the improvement, screenshots are still SDR and won’t have the full impact on HDR displays.
Left: A screenshot of an HDR video overlaid on top of a Chrome page containing Ultra HDR. Right: A screenshot of an HDR video overlaid on top of the Settings app with subsequent screenshots. Both screenshots were taken on Android 15 QPR1, which uses a tonemapper to preserve UI colors and HDR highlights. Source: Google.
Finally, Google is implementing support for true HDR screenshots in Android 16. In Android 16 Beta 2, I found that screenshots of HDR content were saved in HDR format. When I viewed these screenshots in the Photos app on my Pixel phone, I immediately saw my screen brighten as HDR highlights started to pop. I confirmed this by comparing screenshots of the same HDR image taken before and after updating my Pixel 7 Pro to Android 16 Beta 2. The pre-update screenshot was in SDR, while the post-update screenshot was in HDR.
Digging through Android’s source code, I spotted several references to a “true HDR screenshots” feature in SurfaceFlinger, a system service that plays a critical role in screen rendering on Android. When the “true HDR screenshots” feature is enabled, HDR content can be screenshotted without tone mapping.
Display analyst Dylan Raga and GitHub user ledoge inspected the HDR screenshots that Android 16 produces and confirmed that they’re PNG files with HDR gainmaps embedded in them. Most conventional tools are unable to detect these gainmaps, but a specialized PNG inspector was able to detect them. These gainmaps are what allow the screenshots to appear as HDR when viewed on Android 16 devices but as SDR on other devices.
It’s unclear why Google stuck with PNG for HDR screenshots instead of a format supported by Ultra HDR such as JPEG. Perhaps they wanted to avoid potential JPEG compression artifacts, especially when cropping. Hopefully Google officially shares more details on how HDR screenshots in Android 16 work so we can get a better idea of how to share them between devices.
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TL;DR
Even when you aren’t actively using your Android device, it can still prove to be useful through its screen saver. You can, for example, set it to show the home controls screen saver so you can quickly access your smart home controls without unlocking the device. To activate the screen saver, though, you’ll need to either charge the device or dock it. However, not every charging stand is recognized as a dock, and it’s also not convenient to activate the screen saver every time the device is merely charging. That’s why Google is working on a new way to trigger your screen saver in Android 16 — one that doesn’t require the use of a dock at all.
Currently, Android offers two ways to trigger the screen saver: while charging, or while docked and charging. The first option activates the screen saver whenever the device is charging, regardless of how or its physical state. The second option activates it only when the device is both charging and docked.
How does Android detect a docked device? Android appears to rely on the dock itself for this information. Upon connection, the dock transmits data about its type (car, desk, low-end analog, or high-end digital). Android then broadcasts the corresponding dock event, triggering the system screen saver and any other registered applications.
A problem with this approach is that many charging stands aren’t recognized as docks, so the “while charging” trigger must be used to activate the screen saver on them. However, this also activates the screen saver with any charger, such as a bedside table charger. This is annoying for users who want the screen saver only when the device is on a stand, regardless of dock functionality.
Google may solve this with a new screen saver trigger called “postured.” The “postured” state means the device is upright, not flat. This solves the problem of the screen saver triggering when the device is charging while laid flat on a table, as the screen saver will basically only activate when the device is upright and charging on a stand.
This new “postured” trigger isn’t available yet, but I spotted evidence hinting at it in Android 16 Beta 2. Here are the strings in question:
This new “postured” screen saver trigger is likely designed with Android phones in mind. While the trigger could also function on Android tablets, docking issues are less common on those devices. Therefore, it’s unclear whether the existing “docked” triggers will be replaced on tablets.
The addition of a “postured” trigger, while seemingly small, is a welcome improvement. With Qi2 wireless charging support hopefully gaining wider adoption in the near future, this new, dock-independent trigger will make screen savers more accessible.
- Google is working on a new method of activating screen savers on Android.
- A new option will let you trigger the screen saver when your device is charging and “postured,” i.e. it’s upright.
- This eliminates the need to use an actual dock to trigger the screen saver, opening up more opportunities to use the feature.
Even when you aren’t actively using your Android device, it can still prove to be useful through its screen saver. You can, for example, set it to show the home controls screen saver so you can quickly access your smart home controls without unlocking the device. To activate the screen saver, though, you’ll need to either charge the device or dock it. However, not every charging stand is recognized as a dock, and it’s also not convenient to activate the screen saver every time the device is merely charging. That’s why Google is working on a new way to trigger your screen saver in Android 16 — one that doesn’t require the use of a dock at all.
Currently, Android offers two ways to trigger the screen saver: while charging, or while docked and charging. The first option activates the screen saver whenever the device is charging, regardless of how or its physical state. The second option activates it only when the device is both charging and docked.
How does Android detect a docked device? Android appears to rely on the dock itself for this information. Upon connection, the dock transmits data about its type (car, desk, low-end analog, or high-end digital). Android then broadcasts the corresponding dock event, triggering the system screen saver and any other registered applications.
A problem with this approach is that many charging stands aren’t recognized as docks, so the “while charging” trigger must be used to activate the screen saver on them. However, this also activates the screen saver with any charger, such as a bedside table charger. This is annoying for users who want the screen saver only when the device is on a stand, regardless of dock functionality.
Google may solve this with a new screen saver trigger called “postured.” The “postured” state means the device is upright, not flat. This solves the problem of the screen saver triggering when the device is charging while laid flat on a table, as the screen saver will basically only activate when the device is upright and charging on a stand.
This new “postured” trigger isn’t available yet, but I spotted evidence hinting at it in Android 16 Beta 2. Here are the strings in question:
Code:
<string name="screensaver_settings_summary_postured">While postured</string>
<string name="screensaver_settings_summary_postured_and_charging">While postured and charging</string>This new “postured” screen saver trigger is likely designed with Android phones in mind. While the trigger could also function on Android tablets, docking issues are less common on those devices. Therefore, it’s unclear whether the existing “docked” triggers will be replaced on tablets.
The addition of a “postured” trigger, while seemingly small, is a welcome improvement. With Qi2 wireless charging support hopefully gaining wider adoption in the near future, this new, dock-independent trigger will make screen savers more accessible.
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Google just dropped the Android 16 Beta 2.1 update on its Pixel universe as a bit of a bug fixer. Since this isn’t a major beta build, we’ll keep it short and let you get to updating. I know I will be after seeing several reboots on Pixel 9 Pro running Beta 2 and with Google listing it as fixed bug here with 2.1
Below we have the rest of the fixed items as well as the build number and how you can get Android 16 Beta 2.1 downloaded and installed on your Pixel 6 up through the Pixel 9 series.
Android 16 Beta 2.1 Fixed Issues
- Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented devices from entering Doze mode. (Issue #396603519)
- Fixed issues that caused some animations to appear choppy while configuring live wallpapers. (Issue #397659072)
- Fixed an issue that sometimes caused devices to reboot unexpectedly. (Issue #396541565)
- Fixed various other issues that were impacting system stability, connectivity, and performance
Android 16 Beta 2.1 Download
Want to get Beta 2.1 up and running on your Pixel device? It’s easy at this point to do so, as you aren’t being asked to flash images or OTA files any longer. You can! You just don’t need to.
Here’s the full list of Android 16 Beta devices:
- Pixel 6 and 6 Pro
- Pixel 6a
- Pixel 7 and 7 Pro
- Pixel 7a
- Pixel Fold
- Pixel Tablet
- Pixel 8 and 8 Pro
- Pixel 8a
- Pixel 9
- Pixel 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, and 9 Pro Fold
- Easiest way: If you own one of those devices, the easiest way to get Android 16 Beta 2.1 is to sign-up for the Android Beta Program (here). You’ll simply click the “Opt In” button next to your device on that page to join and then sit back and wait for Google to push an update as Android 16 over-the-air.
- Already on an Android 16 DP or Beta build: If you are already on an Android 16 Developer Preview or Beta build, Google says that you will receive the Beta 2.1 update over-the-air. Of course, you can manually flash a factory image or OTA file as well, since the over-the-air process often takes forever to process.
- Flash an image: Want to get updated faster or would rather flash a factory image or OTA file through adb to feel more techie and important and smart? That’s always an option! I’ll be going the OTA route, but factory images will be available too. You’ll find Android 16 Beta 2 factory images here and the OTA files here.
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done
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TL;DR
With the previous Pixel Drop, Google introduced the ability to add widgets to the lock screen, bringing back a feature it had scrapped nearly a decade ago. Unfortunately, the company limited the feature to Android tablets, limiting its usefulness. Thankfully, Google has now confirmed that it will bring lock screen widget support to Android phones in an upcoming Android release, and we managed to activate the feature to bring you a first look.
To recap, Google reintroduced lock screen widgets in the first quarterly release of Android 15, i.e. Android 15 QPR1. The company created a dedicated page for widgets called the “glanceable hub,” accessed by swiping inward from the right edge of the lock screen. The hub page contains a 2×3 grid of widgets that scrolls horizontally. The feature is quite useful, as it allows you to easily manage your smart home devices, start timers, view key financial information, and much more, all at a glance. It would have been great if this feature had been available for phones as well; fortunately, it will be implemented later this year.
Google mentioned in a blog post that it would bring lock screen widgets to mobile devices in an upcoming Android update. In a FAQ about widgets on the lock screen, Google stated that “lock screen widgets will be available in AOSP (Android Open Source Project) for tablets and mobile starting with the release after Android 16 (QPR1).” Android 16 QPR1 will be the first quarterly release of Android 16, and it’s slated for release “in late Summer 2025,” according to Google. Google refers to Android 16 QPR1 internally as the 25Q3 release, which will only contain new features and not any new APIs. Typically, Android’s Q3 releases fall in September, so it’s likely that Android 16 QPR1 will be released in September of 2025.
While Google’s blog post doesn’t contain any actual images of the lock screen widgets feature on phones, we recorded a hands-on video demonstrating the feature. Although the feature isn’t yet live in the most recent Android 16 Beta 2.1 release, we were able to enable it manually.
As you can see in the video embedded below, lock screen widgets on phones will work differently than they do on tablets. The 2×3 grid seen on tablets is too wide for the narrow displays of most phones, so Google’s solution is to display one column of widgets at a time. More importantly, the “glanceable hub” isn’t accessed by swiping inward from the right edge of the lock screen, as it is on tablets. Instead, it’s accessed by triggering the screen saver, that is, by placing the phone on a charger or docking it. In the future, the screen saver will be able to be triggered by placing your phone upright on a stand, but this trigger method isn’t available yet.
Android's 2025 release timeline overview
Besides the number of widgets shown at a time, the trigger method is the only other difference between the lock screen widgets feature on tablets and phones. This could change in the future, although Google isn’t going to release the feature for several months.
When Google releases the feature, it will make all Android widgets available on the lock screen without developer intervention. However, developers need to declare android:showWhenLocked="true" to allow their widgets to launch activities without user authentication. They can also prevent certain widgets from appearing on the lock screen entirely by setting their categories to “not keyguard.”
Google says that OEMs can customize the mechanism to trigger the lock screen widget experience but not the actual interface itself. It will be interesting to see which OEMs, if any, adopt Google’s implementation of lock screen widgets. I’m hoping that at least some will, as the lock screen is a great place to put widgets. If users take advantage of lock screen widgets in great numbers, it will only encourage developers to create more high-quality widgets, which will be a win for the Android ecosystem.
- Google announced today that the upcoming Android 16 QPR1 release will bring lock screen widget support to phones.
- Android 16 QPR1 isn’t expected to roll out until September, but we managed to activate the feature ahead of its release to provide a first look.
- Lock screen widgets on phones may not work quite the same way they do on tablets, but this could change before the feature’s release.
With the previous Pixel Drop, Google introduced the ability to add widgets to the lock screen, bringing back a feature it had scrapped nearly a decade ago. Unfortunately, the company limited the feature to Android tablets, limiting its usefulness. Thankfully, Google has now confirmed that it will bring lock screen widget support to Android phones in an upcoming Android release, and we managed to activate the feature to bring you a first look.
To recap, Google reintroduced lock screen widgets in the first quarterly release of Android 15, i.e. Android 15 QPR1. The company created a dedicated page for widgets called the “glanceable hub,” accessed by swiping inward from the right edge of the lock screen. The hub page contains a 2×3 grid of widgets that scrolls horizontally. The feature is quite useful, as it allows you to easily manage your smart home devices, start timers, view key financial information, and much more, all at a glance. It would have been great if this feature had been available for phones as well; fortunately, it will be implemented later this year.
Google mentioned in a blog post that it would bring lock screen widgets to mobile devices in an upcoming Android update. In a FAQ about widgets on the lock screen, Google stated that “lock screen widgets will be available in AOSP (Android Open Source Project) for tablets and mobile starting with the release after Android 16 (QPR1).” Android 16 QPR1 will be the first quarterly release of Android 16, and it’s slated for release “in late Summer 2025,” according to Google. Google refers to Android 16 QPR1 internally as the 25Q3 release, which will only contain new features and not any new APIs. Typically, Android’s Q3 releases fall in September, so it’s likely that Android 16 QPR1 will be released in September of 2025.
While Google’s blog post doesn’t contain any actual images of the lock screen widgets feature on phones, we recorded a hands-on video demonstrating the feature. Although the feature isn’t yet live in the most recent Android 16 Beta 2.1 release, we were able to enable it manually.
As you can see in the video embedded below, lock screen widgets on phones will work differently than they do on tablets. The 2×3 grid seen on tablets is too wide for the narrow displays of most phones, so Google’s solution is to display one column of widgets at a time. More importantly, the “glanceable hub” isn’t accessed by swiping inward from the right edge of the lock screen, as it is on tablets. Instead, it’s accessed by triggering the screen saver, that is, by placing the phone on a charger or docking it. In the future, the screen saver will be able to be triggered by placing your phone upright on a stand, but this trigger method isn’t available yet.
Android's 2025 release timeline overview
Besides the number of widgets shown at a time, the trigger method is the only other difference between the lock screen widgets feature on tablets and phones. This could change in the future, although Google isn’t going to release the feature for several months.
When Google releases the feature, it will make all Android widgets available on the lock screen without developer intervention. However, developers need to declare android:showWhenLocked="true" to allow their widgets to launch activities without user authentication. They can also prevent certain widgets from appearing on the lock screen entirely by setting their categories to “not keyguard.”
Google says that OEMs can customize the mechanism to trigger the lock screen widget experience but not the actual interface itself. It will be interesting to see which OEMs, if any, adopt Google’s implementation of lock screen widgets. I’m hoping that at least some will, as the lock screen is a great place to put widgets. If users take advantage of lock screen widgets in great numbers, it will only encourage developers to create more high-quality widgets, which will be a win for the Android ecosystem.
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TL;DR
Google wants to turn Android into a proper desktop operating system, and in order to do that, it has to make it work better with traditional PC input methods and display options. Last year, Google added a new External Display settings page to Android, enabling users to adjust the display resolution and rotation of external monitors. This was a positive step, though it wasn’t enough for Android to compete with the likes of Windows, macOS, or even Google’s own Chrome OS. Google is now testing new external display management tools in Android 16 that bring Android closer to other desktop OSes.
When you connect recent Google Pixel phones to an external display, you have the option to mirror the screen. However, if you adjust some developer options, you can instead extend the screen, enabling the external display to show a basic desktop-like interface instead of mirroring the phone’s screen.
However, extending the screen from an Android phone to an external display doesn’t work the same as it does on PC operating systems. For one, the mouse is fixed to one screen and can’t be moved between displays. Another issue is that Android doesn’t let you switch between mirroring the screen and extending it, forcing you to tweak developer options and then reconnect the phone to change display modes.
o address the first issue, Google is enabling mouse cursor transitions across connected displays and adding the ability to rearrange them. The solution to the second issue is to add a toggle that switches between mirroring the built-in display and extending it. Neither of these features are enabled in the latest Android 16 Beta 2.1 release, but I managed to manually enable them with some effort.
In the video embedded below, you can see these new features in action. I start by connecting my Pixel 8 Pro to an external display—the NexDock XL—and then opening Android’s External Display settings on my phone. Initially, Android thinks my Pixel is placed below the NexDock even though it’s physically to the right of it, so to move the mouse cursor between them, I have to swipe up and down on the touchpad. However, after moving the window representing the Pixel’s screen to the right of the window representing the NexDock’s screen, I’m able to move the mouse cursor between displays by swiping left and right on the touchpad.
Just like on PCs, Android lets you precisely arrange the windows to match the actual boundaries of each display. Similarly, you can switch between mirroring and extending the screen by toggling “mirror built-in display.” In addition, you can also adjust the size of text and icons on the external display, separately from that of the built-in display. The ability to control the refresh rate of the external display is currently missing, but there are indications that Google is working on it.
While we spotted these features in Android 16 Beta 2.1, we don’t know if they’ll roll out in the upcoming stable release of Android 16. My guess is that these features won’t be present in the initial release of Android 16 but will be coming to its first quarterly release, similar to lock screen widget support for phones.
These additions might seem basic, but they’re crucial to making Android a proper desktop OS. Google wants to push Android as its unified desktop OS, which means transitioning Chrome OS to an Android base, so the company has to add features that consumers have come to expect from desktop platforms. It’ll take some time for Android to reach feature parity with Chrome OS, but we’re excited to see the end result.
- Google is working on new features to manage external displays.
- These include the ability to rearrange displays, seamlessly move the mouse between displays, and a toggle to switch between mirroring and extending the display.
- These new external display management features could arrive in Android 16 but are more likely intended for a future release.
Google wants to turn Android into a proper desktop operating system, and in order to do that, it has to make it work better with traditional PC input methods and display options. Last year, Google added a new External Display settings page to Android, enabling users to adjust the display resolution and rotation of external monitors. This was a positive step, though it wasn’t enough for Android to compete with the likes of Windows, macOS, or even Google’s own Chrome OS. Google is now testing new external display management tools in Android 16 that bring Android closer to other desktop OSes.
When you connect recent Google Pixel phones to an external display, you have the option to mirror the screen. However, if you adjust some developer options, you can instead extend the screen, enabling the external display to show a basic desktop-like interface instead of mirroring the phone’s screen.
However, extending the screen from an Android phone to an external display doesn’t work the same as it does on PC operating systems. For one, the mouse is fixed to one screen and can’t be moved between displays. Another issue is that Android doesn’t let you switch between mirroring the screen and extending it, forcing you to tweak developer options and then reconnect the phone to change display modes.
o address the first issue, Google is enabling mouse cursor transitions across connected displays and adding the ability to rearrange them. The solution to the second issue is to add a toggle that switches between mirroring the built-in display and extending it. Neither of these features are enabled in the latest Android 16 Beta 2.1 release, but I managed to manually enable them with some effort.
In the video embedded below, you can see these new features in action. I start by connecting my Pixel 8 Pro to an external display—the NexDock XL—and then opening Android’s External Display settings on my phone. Initially, Android thinks my Pixel is placed below the NexDock even though it’s physically to the right of it, so to move the mouse cursor between them, I have to swipe up and down on the touchpad. However, after moving the window representing the Pixel’s screen to the right of the window representing the NexDock’s screen, I’m able to move the mouse cursor between displays by swiping left and right on the touchpad.
Just like on PCs, Android lets you precisely arrange the windows to match the actual boundaries of each display. Similarly, you can switch between mirroring and extending the screen by toggling “mirror built-in display.” In addition, you can also adjust the size of text and icons on the external display, separately from that of the built-in display. The ability to control the refresh rate of the external display is currently missing, but there are indications that Google is working on it.
While we spotted these features in Android 16 Beta 2.1, we don’t know if they’ll roll out in the upcoming stable release of Android 16. My guess is that these features won’t be present in the initial release of Android 16 but will be coming to its first quarterly release, similar to lock screen widget support for phones.
These additions might seem basic, but they’re crucial to making Android a proper desktop OS. Google wants to push Android as its unified desktop OS, which means transitioning Chrome OS to an Android base, so the company has to add features that consumers have come to expect from desktop platforms. It’ll take some time for Android to reach feature parity with Chrome OS, but we’re excited to see the end result.
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