[Google Pixel Update📱] Android 16 QPR2 Beta 3.3 now available!

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TL;DR

• Android 16 QPR1 beta introduces upgraded functionality for the ongoing call chip.
• This long-overdue update makes phone calls easier to interact with.
• This update gives us a look at how Live Updates will work.

It’s been four years since Google added the ongoing call chip to Pixels in Android 12. That’s the bubble in your status bar during calls that displays how long you’ve been on the phone for. All these years later, the Android 16 QPR1 beta 2 that arrived earlier this week has added some much-needed functionality to the ongoing call chip.



Until now, tapping on the call chip would bring you to the full-screen call UI, as you can see above. In Android 16 QPR1, this has changed to display the same UI element that you’d see in the notification shade, where you can hang up, toggle the speaker, and mute your microphone. To access the full-screen UI, tap this pop-up.



This is a welcome change to the ongoing call chip, and reminiscent of what Samsung did with timers, media controls, and other items in the Now Bar in One UI 7. Interestingly, phone calls on One UI 7 and the One UI 8 beta still use the old phone call chip behavior.

 

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Google is testing a new launch animation for the Gemini overlay with Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2. It also suggests the missing vibration is just a bug.

With Beta 2, the “Press & hold power button” gesture to launch Gemini stopped vibrating. The haptic feedback when accessing the Power menu remains, so this is most likely a bug for the Digital assistant option.

Google is now testing a new launch animation for the Gemini overlay. For users that have this A/B test, the vibration is back. Upon activation, your current screen starts to shrink.

When the black borders (which come in from all sides) reach their farthest point, the Gemini overlay starts to slide up with Share screen with Live, Ask about screen, and the Ask Gemini field, with its usual animation. At the same time, the window returns to its fullscreen interface and you can ask your question.



It looks nice on a device (and is completely smooth compared to the hard edges that briefly appear in the screen capture above), with the intended visual effect being how the physical borders of your display are shrinking. This is not widely rolled out and only appearing on one of our Pixel devices.

Besides this Gemini launch animation, Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 is also A/B testing a redesigned Pixel Launcher search field with AI Mode. It disappeared across all of my devices on Friday, but the new gradient ‘G’ logo is still there.

 

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TL;DR

• Google introduced new lock screen clock customization options in Android 16 QPR1 beta 1.
• In the second beta release, the company has added another hidden customization option for the lock screen clock.
• This new option lets you switch between “Rounded” and “Sharp” font styles for the default lock screen clock.

Google rolled out the first Android 16 QPR1 beta release last month, introducing a new customization option for the lock screen clock. The beta build included an updated version of the “Wallpaper & style” app, which featured a new slider that lets you adjust the clock’s appearance. Although Android 16 QPR1 beta 2 does not offer additional customization options on the surface, a user has stumbled upon a hidden feature that lets you further tweak the clock’s design.

Reddit user als26 discovered the hidden customization feature while trying out the new lock screen clock customization in Android 16 QPR1 beta 2. You can trigger it by tapping the lock screen clock preview in the editor, and it makes a subtle change to the font style.

As shown in the attached screenshots, this hidden option switches the clock font from the default “Rounded” to “Sharp.” It also shows a toast highlighting the style change and the option to undo with a tap. Like the customization slider, this new option only works with the default lock screen clock, since it’s the only one using a “reactive” font that allows for dynamic adjustment.

It’s not clear whether Google plans to offer these customization options for other lock screen clocks. We’ll update this post as soon as we have more details.

 

[limmk]

TL;DR

• Android is getting several new animations as part of its Material 3 Expressive revamp.
• Google has started testing one of the upcoming animations in the latest Android 16 QPR1 beta release.
• It appears as a black overlay that expands from the screen borders when you long-press the power button.

In addition to refreshed UI elements, Android’s new Material 3 Expressive design language is set to introduce some slick new animations. We gave you an early look at these animations last month, and Google has now started testing the new power button long-press animation in the latest Android 16 QPR1 beta release.

Google rolled out Android 16 QPR1 beta 2 last week alongside the stable Android 16 update for its Pixel devices. In addition to significant changes, such as a desktop mode, desktop windowing for tablets, custom keyboard shortcuts, and taskbar overflow, the update introduces the new squeeze animation that appears when you long-press the power button to summon the voice assistant.



As shown previously, it appears as a black overlay that expands inwards from the screen borders and disappears just before the assistant overlay pops up. You can see it in action in the attached video (via A_Button117 on Discord). This new animation will likely reach users with Android 16 QPR1, which is expected to arrive shortly after Google unveils the new Pixel 10 lineup.

 

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[joesph]

can write out?

 

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Yo, Google Pixel owners, a new beta update is available for you to download. Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2.1 just went live with some fixes you’ll want.

Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2.1 update: In this new build that’s available to all of the still-supported Pixel phones from the Pixel 6 up through the Pixel 9 Pro XL, Google has included 4 fixes, a couple of which might impact the way you use your device – well, it should stabilize it anyway.

The new build info for this QPR1 Beta 2.1 update is as follows:

Release date: June 25, 2025
Build: BP31.250523.010
Emulator support: x86 (64-bit), ARM (v8-A)
Security patch level: June 2025
Google Play services: 25.18.34

And for the bug fixes, we grabbed them from Google below:

• The “Approve” button in the Device Admin settings is transparent and invisible (Issue #419144521)
• The lockscreen sound toggle shows as off, but sounds still play (Issue #423985494)
• The Android back button intermittently fails to function (Issue #412691179, Issue #417434626, Issue #420283260)
• Fix for a launcher crash when swiping up from the bottom

Both OTA and factory image files are available for those looking to flash this the fastest. For those who want the over-the-air update, you can check by heading into Settings>System>Software updates>System update. I wasn’t seeing it available at the time of this posting, but it should go live momentarily.

// Google

 

[joesph]

6a


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