Android 16 first arrived in June, but, in a change to its usual annual update schedule, a second version is now arriving. Android has announced new features ranging from AI-powered notification summaries to built-in parental controls. As always, the update will be released to eligible Pixel devices first.
Anyone who has used Apple Intelligence will find some of these Android 16 features familiar. The same is the case with new notification tools like AI-powered message summaries and notification organizers. Other updates also align with existing Apple tools like built-in parental controls for things like screen time and app usage.
The second release of Android 16 has additional new features, including custom icon shapes, themed icons, and an expanded dark theme. The company claims that the latter should improve battery life.
Apart from the second innings of Android 16, the company is also releasing a series of general updates. There’s Circle Two Search, which uses AI observations to detect whether a message is likely to be spam – and advises on next steps. Similarly, Google Messages will now send an alert when any unknown number sends a group invite. It will provide one-tap options to skip, block, and report.
In what could be helpful or really annoying fast, Android is testing a beta titled Call Reason. It allows Android users to mark their call as “urgent” when calling a saved contact. It will not only show the urgency on the call screen but will also keep a note in case they miss the call. Pinned tabs are now also available on Chrome for Android, they are saved and exposed just like Chrome on desktop. Additionally, a feature called Expressive Captions is coming that will highlight a person’s emotion in a video even when the sound is off.
These expressive captions are also coming to YouTube as part of Android’s new accessibility update. Additional features include Fast Pair for hearing aids and Guided Frames with Gemini, which details what’s visible on the Pixel camera app. Learn more about all the accessibility updates for Android here.
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