3 Android 16 modifications that simply do not impress me in any respect

Upfront, I will admit that I am on report as preferring iPhones today. My each day driver is an

iPhone 16 Pro
. However I’ve owned a number of Android telephones over time, and I nonetheless respect the platform to this present day. There are issues that it does higher than iOS — equivalent 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 companies. It would be unusual to purchase an Android telephone with out Gmail able to go, in spite of everything.

I am wanting ahead to attempting units with

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

iOS 18
did — which is to say, not very a lot. Enhancements are at all times welcome, but primarily based on what Google’s proven to this point, its newest OS nonetheless looks like a minor evolution. Let’s discuss a couple of examples of what I imply.

1

Materials 3 Expressive

A brand new coat of (physics-based) paint

Hyperlink Picture

Android 16 actually appears to be like good. There are up to date dynamic colour 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 certainly one of my favourite issues about updating any OS, since I take pleasure in personalizing my telephone as a lot as attainable — with out critical modding work, anyway.

My criticism is simply that, for all of the hype round Materials 3 Expressive, it isn’t a radical leap past what you see in Android 15. If something, what issues extra are Google’s sensible interface modifications, equivalent to the power to each resize and reorder Fast Settings icons (a la iOS 18’s Management Middle), or monitor deliveries and rideshares by way of 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 may very well be stood corrected down the road. Typically, not less than, these kinds of interface modifications 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 may rely for one thing.

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2

Discover Hub private location sharing

Helpful in idea, however how about in observe?

Google

As an entire, I approve of the Discover Hub, a rebrand/redesign of Android’s Discover My Gadgets app. One in all its signature options is healthier sharing of your real-time location with different folks, in idea, serving to family and friends reunite after they get misplaced, or test 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 go away it on indefinitely.

I am certain some folks will profit vastly, however that is one other function copied from Apple, particularly the Discover My app. And let me say — on my iPhone, my spouse and I virtually by no means use Discover My for following one another, despite the fact that I am out on the health club three nights per week, and our travels generally take us to the alternative facet of North America. A telephone 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, regardless of any Google assurances about encryption. To essentially reap the benefits of Discover Hub, you will additionally want the folks you are sharing with to have it, too.

Mockingly, I believe Discover Hub’s expanded merchandise monitoring is an even bigger deal. Help for UWB (ultra-wideband) will make some units and tag equipment less complicated to search out, and Google is increasing its companion record, as an example, including the power to share Bluetooth tag information 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 telephone. With Gemini,

Android Auto
(and the confusingly-named

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

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

Android XR
as effectively, 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 displaying me YouTube movies. Even well-meaning YouTube channels generally get their info improper.

Android XR, in the meantime, is an unknown amount, since there are no appropriate 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 supplies. Google suggests utilizing Gemini on Android XR for duties like residence 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 know-how, which you’d assume could be a pure match. It would be an easier approach of making good residence automations, and a dialog is quite a bit simpler with out having to carry a telephone or distant in entrance of your face.

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