What are the main new features in Android 16?

Android 16 introduces custom icon shapes, extended dark mode, AI notification summaries, and improved accessibility features.

How does AI improve notifications in Android 16?

AI provides quick summaries for long messages and group chats, and groups related notifications, silencing lower-priority alerts.

When will the new Android 16 features be available on third-party devices?

New features are rolling out to Pixel devices first, with plans to extend to third-party devices over time.

Home / Technology / Android 16: Smarter, Safer, and More You

Android 16: Smarter, Safer, and More You

6 Dec

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Summary

New Android 16 features include custom icon shapes and extended dark mode.
AI-powered notifications summarize long messages and group chats.
Enhanced accessibility options like Expressive Captions and Guided Frame.

Android 16: Smarter, Safer, and More You

Google is enhancing Android with a substantial update, introducing more personalization options such as custom icon shapes and cohesive themes. Dark mode capabilities are also expanded, now extending to applications that lack their own dark theme support.

Artificial intelligence is at the forefront, offering AI-powered notification summaries for a quick grasp of long messages and group chats. Related notifications are now intelligently grouped, while less urgent alerts like promotions are automatically silenced, streamlining user attention.

The update also brings notable accessibility improvements, including Expressive Captions with emotion tags and Guided Frame for better camera view descriptions. These features, initially for Pixel devices, will eventually reach third-party devices, alongside other non-version-specific enhancements like Emoji Kitchen stickers and scam detection via Circle to Search.