Android 16 Baklava First Beta arrived on my Google Pixel

I received the update via OTA on my Google Pixel 8.

2.5 GB from Android 15 to Android 16 Beta.

I have been registered for a few months at the Android Beta Program, without particular problems.

It is exciting to be able to make the most of the advantages of Pixel experience taking a future preview look without making USB connections, and in general Google beta builds are rather safe. I only had a problem a few months ago with the airplane mode that was not inserted if selected.

This is an update screencast without however still showing the new features that will be activated in the future.

Android 16 Baklava New Feautures

Android 16 is on the horizon, promising a range of enhancements and new features designed to improve user experience and developer capabilities. Here’s a summary of the key updates:

Enhanced Large Screen Experience: Android 16 aims to optimize the user experience on devices with larger screens. A key change is the elimination of the ability for apps to restrict screen orientation or resizing. Apps using API level 36 will be automatically adaptable to various window sizes and aspect ratios, ensuring a more consistent and user-friendly experience across different devices.
Advanced Professional Video (APV) Codec: For video content creators and enthusiasts, Android 16 introduces the APV codec. This codec is designed for high-quality recording and post-production, supporting the APV 422-10 profile with YUV 422 color sampling, 10-bit encoding, HDR10/10+, and bitrates up to 2 Gbps. This advancement allows for higher fidelity video capture and editing on Android devices.
Improved App Adaptability: Building on the large screen enhancements, Android 16 includes new APIs that empower developers to create more inclusive and adaptable applications. Notably, developers can add supplementary descriptions to ViewGroups, improving their visibility in elements like drop-down menus. This focus on adaptability ensures apps function seamlessly across a broader range of devices and screen sizes.
Live Updates: Android 16 introduces “Live Updates,” a feature that provides dynamic notifications, offering more real-time information and interactivity. These updates are similar in concept to the dynamic notifications seen on iOS devices, providing users with at-a-glance information and quick actions directly from their notification shade.
Further Enhancements and Accessibility Improvements: Besides the major features mentioned above, Android 16 also brings several other improvements:
- Night Photography Enhancements: Improved quality for night photos.
- Predictive Back Gesture Improvements: Refinements to the predictive back gesture for smoother navigation.
- Accessibility Improvements: New features to enhance accessibility for users with disabilities.
- Notification Enhancements: Options for reduced notification display on the lock screen, automatically hiding viewed notifications, and removing silent notifications (including conversations) from the lock screen.
- Default Wallet Selection: The ability to set Google Wallet as the default payment service on third-party platforms.