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

Abstract

Android 16 is a welcome improve, however a few of its modifications do not actually matter as a lot as Google would possibly need you to imagine.
Materials 3 Expressive is extra daring, however only a new coat of paint with out the OS’s accompanying interface enhancements.
The Discover Hub’s location sharing will not be as invaluable as you’d assume, and Gemini’s usefulness on watches, TVs, and AR headsets stays to be seen in follow.

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

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

I am wanting ahead to attempting gadgets 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 all the time welcome, but based mostly 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.

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1

Materials 3 Expressive

A brand new coat of (physics-based) paint

Hyperlink Picture

Android 16 actually seems good. There are up to date dynamic coloration themes, new font kinds, and much more interface animations, together with bounces and ripples for actions like swiping away your notifications. New aesthetics are literally one in all my favourite issues about updating any OS, since I take pleasure in personalizing my telephone as a lot as potential — with out critical modding work, anyway.

For all of the hype round Materials 3 Expressive, it isn’t a radical leap past what you see in Android 15.

My grievance 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, akin to the flexibility to each resize and reorder Fast Settings icons (a la iOS 18’s Management Middle), or monitor deliveries and rideshares by way of Reside Updates (one other factor borrowed from Apple). A 12 months from now, individuals are going to care much more about checking how quickly their

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

I might be stood corrected down the road. Generally, 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.

The Smart Stack on the Apple Watch Series 9 over a yellow background.

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Helpful in concept, however how about in follow?

Sharing personal location via Android 16's Find Hub. — Google

Google

As a complete, 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 concept, serving to family and friends reunite after they get misplaced, or examine 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.

Paradoxically, I feel Discover Hub’s expanded merchandise monitoring is an even bigger deal.

I am certain 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, despite the fact that I am out on the fitness center three nights every week, and our travels generally take us to the other aspect of North America. A telephone name or textual content message is often a pleasant means of updating somebody on what you are doing, and a few individuals are inherently uncomfortable with sharing their exact location over the web, regardless of any Google assurances about encryption. To actually benefit from Discover Hub, you will additionally want the folks you are sharing with to have it, too.

Paradoxically, I feel Discover Hub’s expanded merchandise monitoring is an even bigger deal. Help for UWB (ultra-wideband) will make some gadgets and tag equipment easier to seek out, and Google is increasing its associate listing, for example, including the flexibility to share Bluetooth tag knowledge with choose airways, beginning in 2026. That is one other transfer copied from Apple.

An AirTag with an iPhone 13 Pro on a wooden table.

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3

Gemini coming to extra gadgets

The place’s my Google Nest help?

Google

Gemini does belong in additional locations, notably automobiles. Generally it is tough 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. Should you’re bored or curious, you can ask questions on the whole lot from the Grand Canyon to the Spanish Inquisition.

I wish to like Gemini, however I am not going to be impressed by its wider footprint till I see it in real-world conditions.

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

Android XR
as properly, however I am skeptical of the way it’ll work on these platforms. Smartwatches generally really feel underpowered for what they’re already operating, 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 information incorrect.

Android XR, in the meantime, is an unknown amount, since there are no suitable glasses or headsets obtainable to the general public but. Once they do arrive, Gemini goes to need to show wonderful object recognition to be helpful, and that is on prime of minimizing the “hallucinations” (botched solutions) it generally offers. 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 wish 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 would be an easier means of making good residence automations, and a dialog is lots simpler with out having to carry a telephone or distant in entrance of your face.

Heck, think about your Nest Hub with the ability to inform you that it is a mailman on the door, not your buddy who’s imagined to be dropping by.