The first beta version of Android 16 is released, bringing updates to Pixel phones and SDK emulators

Google officially released the first beta version of Android 16, for developers and early testers. Although this beta version has little change, it is still a long way from its final release later this year. Through this update and what was added in the previous two developers previews, we can see that Android 16 is taking shape steadily.

Some of the belated improvements are also included. For example, Android 16 has gradually eliminated the ability to limit screen orientation and resize on large screen devices (width over 600dp). Apps targeting API level 36 in Android 16 will have resized windows and are highly recommended for developers to test their interfaces to ensure seamless scaling at different aspect ratios. By 2026, this change will be applied to all API level 37-oriented apps with no opt-out option. This is important because a large number of applications are still very inflexible to aspect ratios when designed, resulting in poor experience on tablets and foldable phones. However, application developers ultimately need to keep up with the changes in the times.

Another useful addition is "Real Time Update" designed to enhance the "Real Time Notifications" that apps like Uber provide when you ride. The new ProgressStyle notification template simplifies the development of these progress-centric updates, providing custom options for color, icons, and progress tracking segments. This change is mainly reflected in the developer side, but it is still an important aspect, as it will also bring improved real-time notifications to users once it becomes popular.

In the media side, Android 16 introduces support for Advanced Professional Video (APV) codecs designed for high-quality video recording and post-production. APV has near lossless video quality, low complexity encoding for editing workflows, support for high bitrate, frame tiling, and a variety of chroma sampling formats. There is also a new API that allows the application to detect when to switch to the camera’s night mode, which, if implemented correctly, may be very beneficial for low-light photography. Finally, Android 16 provides basic support for vertical text rendering, which is a good thing for languages ??such as Japanese that occasionally use vertical writing systems.

Many updates here are mainly important to developers, such as Android runtime (ART) changes that may affect certain apps and users will not see or notice them when updates are released. However, if you are a developer and want to learn more about these changes, you can read the full list of changes in the official blog post.

As with Android 15, Android 16 will be a "dull" update in many ways. I might be wrong, though, and Google may decide to add a lot of new features before the next few beta versions and OS reaches the platform stability stage (which should be around March). But even if I'm not wrong, I've talked about it before that's not a bad thing. Android is now quite mature, and Google does not need to change UI/UX for the sake of changes, especially some third-party manufacturers (such as Samsung) will adjust Android 16 according to their preferences anyway.

You can now download this update on any Google Pixel device that qualifies, but we recommend that you not download it unless you can accept the risk of possible software issues on your phone.

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