Android 16 is just right
I’ve been waiting to say anything about Android 16 until it was close to being released, but the first real look at what the OS will be dropped during Google I/O, and I think it’s close enough to call: this is how you update a platform.
If you’re a tech enthusiast or an Android nerd, you might feel differently. That’s exactly what I mean. Google was able to pull off a major OS update in a way that seems familiar to everyone, which can’t be easy when adding the things the platform is missing.
What you might call a boring iterative update and something you would expect from Apple is anything but. Under the hood are some big changes and improvements that we deserve, including changes to the official Google Play Store and other Google apps. It’s like Google took a long, hard look at what was wrong and decided to start fixing it.
Yet on the user-facing side, you might not even know you’re using an entirely new platform aside from the fresh coat of paint introduced as part of Material 3 Expressive (which will come via a SPR1 update later this year). The less obvious changes are there if you know what you’re looking for, but installing the latest beta on a phone that was running Android 15 moments before isn’t the jarring slew of changes that we’ve seen in the past.
Those were changes you and I may have liked, but they may have seemed strange and discomforting to the average consumer; you know, the people buying billions of phones.
Most importantly, I’m not seeing sharpened pitchforks from upset app developers like I have in the past. Maybe the company spent more time listening and addressing issues before they became serious, or it found a way to change without causing a ruckus in the developer community. Since apps are what drives any software platform in 2025, that’s a smart move.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect this. Not that I was thinking it would be another early-2000s sci-fi look and feel or anything, but I did not assume an Android update would be this subtle, again, if you discount the cosmetic changes coming with the QPR1 update.
I always say to hold off from installing any beta update to the phone you use every day, especially when it comes to the developer previews, and I’m not saying otherwise here. However, if you do install the beta, I’m betting you’ll notice the same thing. It’s not really the same as it ever was, but it kind of feels like it, even if it looks a little different. That’s a good thing.
You can install the latest Android 16 QPR1 beta on some phones, most notably Pixel smartphones like the new Pixel 9a. Even Samsung is rumored to be ready early this time. When it does get to you, I think you’re going to like it; you’re for sure going to be familiar with it. That’s the best thing of all.
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