I've been using Android 16 for two weeks — here's why I'm so underwhelmed
Google's doing things a little differently with Android 16, compared to other recent Android upgrades. Not only has the software launched around 4 months earlier than Android 14 and 15, the biggest upgrades won't actually be arriving until later this year.
In my professional opinion, those two things are almost certainly related. And it shows with the amount of things Android 16 can actually do compared to Android 15 — which is to say, not a lot.
I've been using the final version of Android 16 for just under two weeks, and I have to say that I'm very disappointed.
As bland and uninspiring as previous Android updates have been, Android 16 takes it to another level — and it doesn't even feel like an upgrade.
The one thing that gets me most about Android 16 is that it's basically just a carbon copy of Android 15. I'm not saying that every version of Android has to be drastically different from its predecessors.
In fact I've argued that Android having bland updates isn't necessarily a bad thing, so long as the updates are actually present.
But that does need to offer something that you couldn't get on older software. Android 16 doesn't really offer that kind of experience.
After a few days of using Android 16 I had a sudden urge to double check that the update had actually taken hold. The experience was so close to that of Android 15 that it didn't actually feel like I'd updated, and I had to dive into the system menus to check my phone was, in fact, running Android 16.
To make matters more confusing, Android 16 is also only available on Pixel phones — and was released alongside the June Pixel feature drop.
That means features like the new Pixel VIPs arrived alongside Android 16, but technically aren't part of it, meaning Android 16 has even less to offer than some people might have suspected.
Sadly this doesn't change the fact that I think Pixel VIPs is a pretty useless feature that doesn't deserve the attention Google has been giving it. But sadly it's one of the only things Google actually can promote right now.
To make matters worse Android 16 is filled with a bunch of bugs — two of which I've experienced pretty frequently. One of the best parts of having an Android phone is the back button, and in Android 16 it only works about 70% of the time. Google's promised fix can not come soon enough.
The one big Android announcement we got at Google I/O was the Material Expressive 3 redesign. Android 16 was getting a whole new look, with the aim of making the software more personalized and easy on the eyes. Which is great, assuming you can get over Google's purple-heavy marketing, because Android has looked pretty samey for the past several years.
Other features of note include Live Updates, which offers something similar to Apple's Live Activities and lets you keep tabs on important updates in real time. Though this was confirmed to be limited to food delivery and ride sharing apps at first.
There's also an official Android desktop mode, officially called "Desktop Windowing." Google likens this feature to Samsung's DeX, and confirmed that it offers more of a desktop experience — with moveable app windows and a taskbar. It's unclear whether that would be limited to external displays, or if you could do it on your phone too.
These are all great things, but the slight issue is that none of them are actually available yet.
Material Expressive isn't coming until an unspecified point later this year, while Desktop Windowing will only enter beta once the Android 16 QPR3 beta 2 is released.
Since we're still on the QPR 1 beta, right now, it's going to be a while before anyone gets to use that particular future. Assuming they have a "large screen device," which sounds like this won't be available on regular phones.
Live Updates is an interesting one, because all Google material acts like this feature is already available. But I can't find any evidence that it's actually live and working. No mentions in the settings menu, nothing on social media and no tutorials on how it actually works. It's nowhere to be found.
Asking 3 features to carry an entire software update is already pushing it, but when those features just aren't available at launch, it begs the question of why Google actually bothered to release Android 16 so early.
Android 16's early release didn't do it any favors. It seems Google rushed it to ensure the Pixel 10 launches with it, but the update feels unfinished — virtually no different from Android 15.
Like Apple with iOS 18, Google is selling a future promise rather than a present product. Android 16 ends up being one of the blandest updates in years. Honestly, a short delay to finish key features would've been better.
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CNET
34 minutes ago
- CNET
Your Phone Is Filthier Than a Toilet Seat. Here's How to Fix That
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I can't believe how far Switch emulation has come in the year since Nintendo killed it
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an hour ago
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Will Taiwan Semiconductor Be a $2 Trillion Stock by 2030?
Taiwan Semiconductor is already a $1.1 trillion company. Management projects strong growth over the next five years. 10 stocks we like better than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing › Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) is currently a $1.14 trillion stock. So, for it to reach $2 trillion by 2030, it would need to rise by 75% over the next five years, delivering an 11% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). If you throw in Taiwan Semiconductor's 1% dividend yield, that means the stock would deliver about 12% returns over the next five years should TSMC (for short) rise to become a $2 trillion company. That's market-beating growth, which is exactly what many investors seek. So, is this a realistic time frame? I think it is, but there are also signs that this would be a relatively slow growth rate compared to what management is projecting. TSMC is the world's top contract chip manufacturer. That means it doesn't sell its chips on the open market; instead, it provides its chip production services to those that cannot make chips themselves -- which is nearly every big tech company. TSMC is the key supplier for Apple and Nvidia, along with countless other recognizable names. It has become the top partner due to its best-in-class technologies and excellent chip yields, which keep prices low compared to its competitors. As a result of all this, management has an excellent vision into the future since chip orders are often placed years in advance. This is especially true in the U.S., where its Arizona factory already sold out its capacity through 2027. Management believes that over the next five years, AI-related revenue will have a 45% CAGR. That's incredible growth when sustained for a relatively long time, and it results in an overall CAGR of nearly 20% for the next five years. As mentioned, TSMC only needs to grow its stock price by 11% each year to become a $2 trillion company. So if its revenue growth can directly translate to stock price appreciation, then it's well on its way to a $2 trillion market cap, crushing the market along the way. But that will happen only if the stock is reasonably valued. Some stocks have years of growth already priced into them, so even if TSMC is expected to have a nearly a 20% CAGR over the next five years, that may already be baked into the stock price. Fortunately for investors, the stock trades at a reasonable level. At 23.3 times forward earnings, TSMC's stock isn't as cheap as it was just a few months ago, but it's still reasonably priced from a market perspective. The S&P 500 trades for 22.8 times forward earnings, so the two are valued at about the same level. This is still a historically expensive valuation for the broader market, so investors need to understand that the valuation of those two could go down as the years progress, which will eat into some of the stock performance that a 20% CAGR over five years would deliver. However, there is still plenty of growth to propel TSMC to become a $2 trillion stock and deliver market-beating growth along the way. It's one of my top picks in the market right now, since I believe it will be a winner regardless of which AI company has the best technology. All of these AI hyperscalers have to run their workloads through something, and there's a high probability that it's through Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing chips. Before you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $713,547!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $966,931!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,062% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 177% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Keithen Drury has positions in Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Will Taiwan Semiconductor Be a $2 Trillion Stock by 2030? was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
