Summary
- Android 16’s stable release is expected soon as its beta program has ended, and the pre-release channel has advanced to Android 16 Quarterly Platform Release 1 (QPR1).
- Android 16 QPR1, which will introduce Google’s new Material 3 Expressive UI, has received its first minor update, Beta 1.1, to address several bug fixes, mostly related to UI glitches.
- This QPR1 Beta 1.1 update is a small download but includes fixes for issues like unresponsive navigation buttons, media player progress errors, and various app crashes or display problems.
Android 16 is coming to the stable channel this month — in fact, the beta program for Google’s next big release has already ended. Now, the pre-release channel has moved on to Android 16 Quarterly Platform Release 1 — or QPR1 — and this is perhaps an even bigger update than the main Android 16 release.
QPR1 will eventually go stable as the first Pixel Feature Drop after Android 16’s release, and it will bring Google’s all-new Material 3 Expressive UI along with it. Some of these bouncy new animations and tweaks are already live on QPR1 Beta 1 — but apparently, there were quite a few glitches with the early version of this visual overhaul, because Google is already releasing a second beta for QPR1.
Google announced Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1.1 on Reddit today, with the release happening at around 5:30 p.m. ET — about two hours later than these updates are usually sent out. The new version has a build number of BP31.250502.008.A1 on supported devices, which include all of Google’s phones, tablets, and foldables dating back to the Pixel 6.
The release notes page for this update mentions quite a few bug fixes, with most predictably pertaining to UI glitches:
This minor update to Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1 includes the following fixes:
- Fixed an issue where the navigation buttons would become unresponsive in the app drawer or task switcher (Issue #418395419)
- Fixed an issue where the progress bar in the media player on the lock screen doesn’t reflect the place in media (Issue #419142109)
- Fixed a crash when trying to open effects in wallpaper (Issue #419063857)
- Fixed an issue where the settings app would crash after trying to open the battery menu (Issue #419125330)
- Fixed an issue where the lock screen date could get cut off when using a wide clock style (Issue #419145518)
- Fixed an issue where the search button has a different color when scrolling (Issue #419130323)
- Fixed an issue where the approve button in Device Admin settings is missing (Issue #419144521)
- Fixed an issue where dark album labels appeared in the photo picker when in dark mode, impacting readability (Issue #419159231)
- Fixed an issue where the date wasn’t appearing on the homescreen
- Fixed a fingerprint authentication failure on a multi-user Android device in certain low-power conditions
All eligible devices enrolled in the Android Beta for Pixel program will be offered an over-the-air (OTA) update to QPR Beta 1.1.
Even updates have playful animations now
The update itself has already gone live. It clocked in at 7.74MB on our Pixel 7 unit, so it is indeed a “minor update,” as Google describes it in the changelog.
Notably, this is the first time we’re seeing the Material 3 Expressive update screen, which uses a squiggly line to denote progress:
Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for the stable Android 16 update, but there’s been no sign of that yet. If Thursday comes and goes without that update rolling out, we’d likely have to wait until next week, since companies are generally reluctant to roll out a major version bump right before developers head home for the weekend.
If you’re enrolled in the Android Beta Program, you can install today’s update by heading to Settings → System → Software updates → System update → Check for updates. Despite the relatively small size, our still took over 15 minutes to install the update, so make sure you’re near a charger.
