Google Makes Android 16 Official With a Fresh Design, Security Updates, and Gemini

Android is always evolving, and Google I/O is often when we hear about the biggest new changes. Ahead of the event, Google is announcing smarter safety features, a fresh new look for your phone and watch, and Gemini in more places than ever in Android 16.

Safety & Security

We’ll start with some safety and security improvements. You know those annoying and sometimes dangerous scam texts? Google Messages is getting enhanced protection with AI-powered Scam Detection that works right on your device to keep your conversations private. The feature is getting smarter at spotting all sorts of scams, including crypto, financial, and gift card scams. As we previously wrote about, Android 16 is also enhancing and expanding Advanced Protection.

Beyond just your phone, keeping track of your physical stuff and even people is getting easier. Find My Device is evolving into “Find Hub,” a single spot where you can locate your devices and tagged items, check in on family, or share your location. Later this year, Find Hub will also integrate satellite connectivity for supported devices and carriers, helping you stay connected when you don’t have cell service. If you’re a frequent flyer, you’ll be able to share your Bluetooth tag’s location with certain airlines like Aer Lingus and British Airways, making finding lost luggage much easier. This is coming next year.

Material 3 Expressive

Now on to the most visual part of Android 16. As previously leaked, your phone and watch are about to get a big design refresh with “Material 3 Expressive.” This update is all about making your device feel truly yours with new ways to show off your style and personality. There are more fluid interactions and natural, springy animations throughout the system, like when you dismiss notifications or scroll through recent apps. The notification shade is getting a subtle blur for a sense of depth. You’ll also find updated dynamic color themes, responsive components, and emphasized typography that apply across Google apps like Photos and Gmail.

The Quick Settings panel is becoming more customizable, letting you squeeze in more of your most-used actions. And you won’t miss important updates thanks to the new Live Updates feature, which keeps real-time progress notifications from select apps like delivery and rideshare services front and center. We looked closely at how this feature works earlier this year.

Wear OS is also getting some design love with a fluid design centered around round displays, complete with scrolling animations that follow the screen’s curve and dynamic color-theming that applies throughout the system. You’ll also find glanceable buttons that hug the display and more space-efficient tiles for quick access to important information. Plus, Wear OS 6 is bringing performance improvements and allegedly up to 10% more battery life.

Gemini

Of course, Gemini is a big part of the update as well, for better or worse. As we’ve been expecting, Gemini will finally be coming to your Wear OS smartwatch. Gemini will also be available on Android Auto soon, and later in cars with Google Built-in. You’ll be able to find optimal routes, get help along the way (like finding a charging station near a park), summarize messages, and even translate replies.

Later this year, Gemini will be coming to your TV with Google TV as well. Google says this can help you find age-appropriate movies or even assist your kids with homework questions by providing answers and finding relevant YouTube videos. That’s…an interesting use case to advertise. And looking ahead, Gemini is teaming up with Android XR, a new platform being built with Samsung, to power future headsets and glasses.

Android 16, Wear OS 6, and many of these new features will be available first on Pixel devices “later this year.” As for when other Android devices can get a taste, we don’t know. However, it looks like Samsung is ahead of schedule, and OnePlus has already been sending out the Android 16 beta to devices.

Source: Google (1, 2, 3, 4)