New and new Android 16 features (2025): How to install, features, release date
Another year, another Google’s mobile operating system version. Android 16 brings a whole new look (Apple has just announced a redesign in iOS 26), more customization options, some chunky security enhancements, and some accessibility improvements to accessibility. Android 16 is launching today’s devices, and these are the new features that attract us.
Google officially abandoned the delicious dessert name for Android with Android 10 a few years ago, but it still uses them internally. Android 15 is vanilla ice cream, while Android 16 is codenamed Baklava.
When will Android 16 arrive on your phone?
Android 16’s official release date is June 10. This release is earlier than usual (last year was September), and Google has scheduled another “secondary” release, perhaps the last quarter of 2025, perhaps Android 16.1.
Google’s Pixel phones always get new Android versions first, but Android 16 also selected devices from Honor, Iqoo, Iqoo, Lenovo, Motorola, Nothing, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Samsung, Samsung, Sony, Sony, Sharp, Vivo and Xiaomi. Check out your phone manufacturer’s website, forum, or social media to see when (if any) you can expect Android 16.
How to download and install Android 16
People who use Google Pixel Phone (Pixel 6 and update) can download Android 16 by going to settings > system > Software Update > System update and knock Check for updates.
If you can’t wait, you can install Android 16 Beta. These pre-releases enable developers to test the upcoming release of Google’s mobile operating system, learn about new features, and prepare their apps or games to work properly. They also provide early adopters with the opportunity to peep.
The beta version is more stable than the developer’s preview, but some bugs may be that some obstacles can be installed with several basketballs, so it is not recommended for everyone to use. If you want to give it a try, you need a supported partner device (including Honor, Oppo, OnePlus and Xiaomi’s Choice Phone) and you must sign up for the Android Beta plan. Most people who sign up get a Beta update OTA without wiping their phone (in the air), but you can’t opt out of the Beta program without resetting your phone. Make sure to back up your Android phone first.
Updates will usually pop up automatically, but you can always check if you have the latest version settings > system > System update By knocking Check for updates. Want to get off and go back to Android 15? Go to Google’s Android Beta page, scroll down to find your device, and click opt out. This will erase all locally saved data, so you will lose anything that has not been backed up. You should get a prompt to return to an older version.
Top Android 16 features
These are the features and improvements in Android 16 that we are most excited about. You can learn more on Google’s developer website and be sure to read our interview with Google Android Ceage to see what he hopes for the platform.
Real-time update
Google will track your Android notifications in real time, such as food delivery and navigation. The apps related to it must open, you will see a live update in the notifications showing when your Uber arrives, or what to do if you use the route to travel somewhere. These live updates will be the best notifications and will also appear on the Always Show display so you can see at a glance that the food will arrive through an app like Doordash. Pull down to extend the notification and you will see a progress bar and quick links to actions such as the option to call or message the driver.
Similar to live events in Apple iOS, real-time updates may vary slightly from each manufacturer. Samsung obviously plans to roll up real-time updates to the Now Bar located at the bottom of the lock screen, while OnePlus integrates them into its existing Live Alerts system.
Advanced protection mode
This new security model in Android 16 is suitable for people at high risk, such as public figures, journalists and activists who need to provide additional protection for their digital lives. Google’s advanced protection already exists in Google accounts, but now extends to Android 16, imposing tough security settings on applications and services to keep your data secure. It includes checks on memory to block exploits, USB protection and protection against unsafe websites, as well as spam calls and messages. Later versions will increase intrusion detection by retaining permanent end-to-end encrypted logs from devices in the cloud, which can be shared and analyzed by security experts if you suspect there is a problem.
AI-driven scam detection
Sadly, fraud is a big business. Most people see a scam on their phones at some point, whether it’s disguised as technical support, prizes, or crypto investment opportunities. Google is using device AI to discover scam text in Google messages using scam detection. It runs local devices so there is no shared message content and shows people pop-up warnings when they find suspicious scams, warning them of risks, and offers opportunities to report and block scammers. During the phone call, some permissions will also be blocked, so the scammers are no longer able to guide people through the process, thus causing the malicious application to go through the situation.
Medical record
Health Connect enables different health, fitness and wellbeing applications to share data covering your health status in certain categories (activity, body measurement, cycle tracking, nutrition, sleep and vitality). Google now adds support for electronic health records (EHR) using the Fast Healthcare Interoperable Resource (FHIR) widely used by healthcare providers. It is not clear how it works or what data it contains, but it may make sharing health records easier.
Auracast Broadcast Support
As one of the latest Bluetooth features, Auracast can stream audio to hearing aids and other supporting devices in public spaces. There are several people who can use it to connect to the same audio stream at the same time, for example, to get audio from a TV in a public place like a gym, or to transfer the audio directly to a hearing aid at a public concert. Android 16 supports broadcasting, so you can go settings > Connected devices > Audio Sharing And choose to share audio with nearby devices that support Bluetooth LE audio, including Auracast.
Better support for larger screens
While some apps limit resize and screen orientation, Google is removing this default feature in Android 16. Now every app should adapt to different screen sizes and aspect ratios, including tablets and folding phones. Google also wants developers to make sure app content is displayed as edges.
Hide sensitive notifications
Google is deleting content from sensitive notifications such as one-time password (OTP) when Google detects the potential risk of others seeing notifications. This may be if you are not connected to home Wi-Fi and have not unlocked your phone for a while.
Clearer text
For people with low vision and reduced contrast sensitivity, Google is detecting text that might be a problem and drawing a high contrast color box under it to ensure the text is as clear as possible.
LE audio hearing aid function
For Bluetooth LE audio hearing aids using Android 16, there are several notable new features. First, you can choose to switch between the built-in microphone on the hearing aid and the microphone on the phone to get a voice call. The second is the ability to adjust the ambient volume picked up by the hearing aid microphone. Both can prove helpful in noisy environments with a lot of background noise.
Enhanced cameras for professional photographers
Google is pushing many small camera improvements in Android 16 for keen photographers. There is a hybrid auto exposure that balances automatic and manual ISO and exposure controls, precise color temperature and color adjustments, better night mode support for the application, and support for ultra HDR images in HEIC file formats. Google has also added Advanced Professional Video (APV) codecs for high-quality video recording and post-processing.
Window Application
Do you want Android to be more like Windows? Supports desktop windows, allowing you to run multiple applications simultaneously. The multitasker will be able to resize the window, and the new features will work seamlessly with the split screen (just like the new iPados 26!). Google also adds connected display support so you can connect an external monitor to your Android device and discover the joy of a dual-screen setup. Currently, part of the developer preview will not appear on your Android tablet until later this year.
Fresh design
The latest evolution of Google’s Android design language is that Material 3 is expressive. While this is not a complete overhaul, it can personalize your Android device with new animations, better haptic feedback, more dynamic color themes, influential fonts and more opportunities. Google has completed its assignments, conducting 46 studies with more than 18,000 participants to make changes approved by people of all ages.
Before you get too excited, Material 3 Exprative will not be part of the June release, but will be launched first on Pixel phones later this year before it comes on other Android devices. Impatient people may peek by signing up for an Android Beta plan.
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