Google tests a new Pixel Launcher search bar, but it’s still missing the feature you want

With Android 16 Beta 1.1, Google made a change that might sit well with some, while it may make the home-screen experience feel more crammed for others.

The tech giant began rolling out a dedicated AI Mode shortcut for the Pixel Launcher’s coveted search bar last week, and it looks like it now wants to put more emphasis on it.

For reference, the Pixel Launcher has long maintained the same two-shortcut look. Google Lens and voice search have been the only two icons on the Launcher’s search bar since September 2021, in addition to the ‘G’ logo to the side. Google changed that last week with the introduction of an AI Mode shortcut, giving the Pixel Launcher a look similar to the Google app’s search widget.

Now, the ‘widget-ifcation’ of the Launcher’s search bar continues. Early in May, Google was spotted rolling out a new look for the Google app’s search widget in beta — one that gives the chosen shortcut its own segmented section to the side. The same look is now making its way to the Pixel Launcher’s search bar.

No swapping allowed here

The Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 went live yesterday, and for some users, it brings a segmented Pixel Launcher search bar. This isn’t the case for us (yet), but users on Reddit and Telegram suggest otherwise (via Android Authority).

Instead of integrating the AI Mode button directly within the search bar (as seen earlier), the new design gives the tool its own circular section to the side. The search bar itself is situated within a wider pill that appears to be dynamically themed.

While the same implementation on the Google app’s widget allows you to swap out the shortcut for alternatives like Weather, Translate, News, Finance, Song Search, and more, or remove the shortcut altogether, the Pixel Launcher’s implementation offers no such options.

For what it’s worth, the Google app’s redesigned search bar widget is still in beta, though it will likely be rolled out in stable via an app update in the near future. The Pixel Launcher search bar’s implementation, on the other hand, isn’t expected to land before September.