3 Android 16 adjustments that simply do not impres...

Upfront, I am going to admit that I am on document as preferring iPhones as of late. My each day driver is an

iPhone 16 Pro
. However I’ve owned a number of Android telephones over time, and I nonetheless recognize the platform to this present day. There are issues that it does higher than iOS — similar to voice instructions — and I like the truth that it is open-source, even when {hardware} makers haven’t got a lot alternative however to license Google providers. It might be unusual to purchase an Android cellphone with out Gmail able to go, in spite of everything.

I am wanting ahead to attempting units with

Android 16
pre-loaded. Nonetheless, the interface impresses me as a lot as

iOS 18
did — which is to say, not very a lot. Enhancements are all the time welcome, but based mostly on what Google’s proven to date, its newest OS nonetheless looks like a minor evolution. Let’s speak about a couple of examples of what I imply.

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1

Materials 3 Expressive

A brand new coat of (physics-based) paint

Hyperlink Picture

Android 16 definitely appears good. There are up to date dynamic shade themes, new font types, and much more interface animations, together with bounces and ripples for actions like swiping away your notifications. New aesthetics are literally considered one of my favourite issues about updating any OS, since I take pleasure in personalizing my cellphone as a lot as attainable — with out critical modding work, anyway.

My grievance is simply that, for all of the hype round Materials 3 Expressive, it is not a radical leap past what you see in Android 15. If something, what issues extra are Google’s sensible interface adjustments, similar to the flexibility to each resize and reorder Fast Settings icons (a la iOS 18’s Management Middle), or monitor deliveries and rideshares through Stay Updates (one other factor borrowed from Apple). A yr from now, persons are going to care way more about checking how quickly their

Uber
goes to reach than what widget colours they’ve out there.

I might be stood corrected down the road. Typically, a minimum of, these kinds of interface adjustments have a cumulative impact that may’t be conveyed by movies or screenshots. If Android 16 feels genuinely higher to make use of day-to-day because of its visible tweaks, that can rely for one thing.

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2

Discover Hub private location sharing

Helpful in principle, however how about in apply?

Google

As an entire, I approve of the Discover Hub, a rebrand/redesign of Android’s Discover My Units app. One in every of its signature options is best sharing of your real-time location with different folks, in principle, serving to family and friends reunite once they get misplaced, or verify in on one another’s security — say if somebody’s doing a sundown jog or coming again late from a highway journey. Sharers can select to time-limit this monitoring or depart it on indefinitely.

I am positive some folks will profit drastically, however that is one other characteristic copied from Apple, particularly the Discover My app. And let me say — on my iPhone, my spouse and I nearly by no means use Discover My for following one another, though I am out on the fitness center three nights per week, and our travels generally take us to the alternative aspect of North America. A cellphone name or textual content message is often a pleasant approach of updating somebody on what you are doing, and a few persons are inherently uncomfortable with sharing their exact location over the web, irrespective of any Google assurances about encryption. To essentially benefit from Discover Hub, you will additionally want the folks you are sharing with to have it, too.

Sarcastically, I feel Discover Hub’s expanded merchandise monitoring is a much bigger deal. Assist for UWB (ultra-wideband) will make some units and tag equipment less complicated to search out, and Google is increasing its companion checklist, as an example, including the flexibility to share Bluetooth tag knowledge with choose airways, beginning in 2026. That is one other transfer copied from Apple.

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3

Gemini coming to extra units

The place’s my Google Nest assist?

Google

Gemini does belong in additional locations, significantly vehicles. Typically it is troublesome sufficient to decide on music or a preset vacation spot whereas driving, by no means thoughts the stuff you’d usually do in your cellphone. With Gemini,

Android Auto
(and the confusingly-named

Android Automotive
) will allow you to use your voice for duties like unearthing an handle buried in Gmail, or finding an EV charging station that additionally has a restaurant close by. When you’re bored or curious, you’ll ask questions on all the things from the Grand Canyon to the Spanish Inquisition.

The AI assistant is coming to Put on OS, Google TV, and

Android XR
as nicely, however I am skeptical of the way it’ll work on these platforms. Smartwatches generally really feel underpowered for what they’re already working, and I do not know that I belief Gemini for film and present suggestions, not to mention answering questions by exhibiting me YouTube movies. Even well-meaning YouTube channels generally get their information unsuitable.

Android XR, in the meantime, is an unknown amount, since there are not any suitable glasses or headsets out there to the general public but. Once they do arrive, Gemini goes to must show wonderful object recognition to be helpful, and that is on high of minimizing the “hallucinations” (botched solutions) it generally gives. Google suggests utilizing Gemini on Android XR for duties like dwelling enchancment — however there’s some critical hazard potential if it makes errors about issues like electrical energy or plumbing.

I need to like Gemini, however I am not going to be impressed by its wider footprint till I see it in real-world conditions. And Google has but to replace any of its Nest audio system or shows with the expertise, which you’d assume can be a pure match. It might be a less complicated approach of making good dwelling automations, and a dialog is so much simpler with out having to carry a cellphone or distant in entrance of your face.

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