I spent the weekend on Android 16 Beta 1, but I wouldn’t have known it

Android 16 is shaking up Google’s typical release cycle. While new versions of Android have typically been released in the fall (Android 12, 14, and 15 each hit stable in October 2021, 2023, and 2024, respectively), Android 16 is expected to be finished in the second quarter of this year, ready in time to ship on 2025’s Pixel phones. In keeping with that timeline, the beta period for Android 16 started last week.

I grabbed Android 16 Beta 1 last week and used it on my Pixel 9 Pro all weekend. It’s been smooth sailing — but in my experience so far, it also hasn’t been any different from using Android 15. If you’re an enthusiast on the fence about hopping on the beta, know that you’re not missing much at this point. Android 16 will bring changes later on, but as far as the beta goes, not much has changed on the user side.

Android 16 Beta 1: Samey, but stable

Android’s reached a certain level of maturity. In terms of moment-to-moment look and feel, Android 16 Beta 1 is almost indistinguishable from Android 15 — which itself wasn’t much different from Android 14, or 13. In 2021, we called Android 12 “your phone’s biggest update in years,” but since then, subsequent versions have been iterations on that foundation.

More significant UX changes may be coming in later beta versions. In digging through Android 15’s various beta builds over the past few months, Mishaal Rahman has found evidence of some big upcoming changes, including a fully redesigned quick settings panel and the option to put any app inside a floating “bubble.” Elsewhere, we heard that Android 16 might let us change app icon shapes.

None of that is present in Android 16 Beta 1, though. Coming from Android 15 on my Pixel 9 Pro, I haven’t noticed any material differences using Android 16 Beta 1 at all (except for some minor bugs, but more on that later). I haven’t seen every single screen Android 16 has to offer, so it’s possible I missed something, somewhere — but as far as big, new, user-accessible features like redesigned quick settings or new icon shapes, there’s nothing here yet.

So Android 16 Beta 1 might be a little bit of a bust for Android fans itching to try something new, but it does pave the way for what will be appreciable changes down the line. Android 16 Beta 1 supports a new type of notification Google calls Live Updates, which are meant to show the progress of ongoing activities like navigation or food delivery. Live Updates are notably similar to Apple’s Live Activities, which debuted on iOS 18. Individual developers will need to set up Live Updates for their apps, but we should expect to see them implemented for apps like Uber and Doordash.

Apps targeting Android 16 — which will include most of the apps you use, sooner or later — will work better on tablets and foldables, as Google’s making them resizable by default. The change doesn’t include games yet, but Google says that’s coming too, in next year’s Android 17. Apps targeting Android 16 or higher will also have predictive back animations enabled by default, though developers will still be able to opt out. Predictive back animations have been around since Android 13, but because they’ve been optional, few app developers have integrated them. They’re still optional on Android 16, but being opt-out rather than opt-in means we should see an uptick in adoption soon.

Android 16 also supports the Samsung-developed Advanced Professional Video codec, which can deliver “perceptually lossless video quality” at manageable file sizes. There’s plenty of other developer-centric changes on board, too; check out Mishaal’s write-up for a closer look at the nitty-gritty.

These are all the kinds of edgewise improvements that will add up to a difference in the overall Android experience. But as far as the beta goes, there’s not much reason for non-developer enthusiasts to hop on the bandwagon just yet. Subsequent betas could introduce bigger user-facing changes, of course; the Android 16 beta is supposed to enter platform stability in or around March, just a few weeks from now.

While it’s a little disappointing for Android nerds that the first beta didn’t come with more sweeping UI changes, on the flip side, I haven’t run into any major bugs. I’ve seen a little weirdness, but nothing that’s made me regret dropping the beta on my daily driver. Occasionally when I tap the Google Search widget then type a search query, the search button won’t actually perform the search, and I’ll need to exit the UI and start again. I’ve also seen the camera viewfinder fail to show what the camera is seeing, instead displaying solid black (though I was still able to take photos). I haven’t been able to pin down what causes either of these weird behaviors, but neither’s been very frequent.

Android 16 Beta 1 is available to download now

So that’s my first weekend with Android 16 Beta 1: for now, it’s pretty much the same as Android 15. On the whole, that’s probably a good thing. Lots of people use Android, and sweeping overhauls to UI or functionality can be alienating for less engaged users. We enthusiasts might get bigger changes to chew on in later versions, but for the time being, Android 16 Beta 1 is at least looking pretty stable.

You can grab Android 16 Beta 1 on Pixel phones (Pixel 6 or newer) or the Pixel Tablet right now at Google’s Android Beta Program signup website.