Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1 starts rolling out: Material 3 Expressive redesign that Google calls 'its biggest updates in years'; eligible Pixel devices and more
Google
has rolled out the first major beta update for Android 16, with the release of QPR1 Beta 1. Ahead of Android 16's stable release, Google is rolling out
QPR1 Beta 1
to
Pixel devices
with the
Material 3 Expressive redesign
. To those unaware, it means
Quarterly Platform Release
Beta 1. QPRs deliver more significant changes compared to monthly bug fixes.
Android 16
QPR1 Beta 1 one introduces the big, OS-spanning redesign. As Google said, it includes revamped notifications shade, quick settings panel, lockscreen, and launcher. This build contains some of the Material 3 Expressive changes covered in Google's recent Android announcement.
What is Material 3 Expressive redesign that comes with Android 16
Material 3, Google's latest design system, introduces an expressive redesign for Android, emphasizing personalization, dynamic adaptability, and enhanced user experience. Launched as part of Android 12 and refined in subsequent updates, it builds on Material Design principles with a focus on bold, vibrant aesthetics and improved accessibility.
Key features include Dynamic Color, which adapts UI colors based on the user's wallpaper, creating a cohesive and personalized look. The system offers updated typography with customizable typefaces, improved legibility, and scalable text sizes. Enhanced component designs, such as buttons, cards, and navigation bars, feature smoother animations, rounded edges, and refined touch targets for better usability. Accessibility is prioritized with high-contrast themes and inclusive design options.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
These Are The Most Beautiful Women In The World
5minstory.com
Undo
Should you download Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1
Historically, QPRs are relatively stable and launch as betas rather than developer previews. Google officially says that they are 'suitable for general use,' with Android 16 QPR1 expected to launch in September. However, if you want to get the final stable public Android 16 release first, opt out from google.com/android/beta before installing QPR1 Beta 1. You will then get a downgrade OTA notification. Ignore this update as it will wipe your device/data and install Android 15. Keep doing so until Google announces Android 16 in the coming weeks.
Who will get Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1
Those on the Beta Program for Android 16 will get QPR1 Beta 1 without having to change anything.
How to report bugs in Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1
The Android Beta Feedback app is available on Pixel devices to submit problems. You can access it from the app drawer or via Quick Settings to file bugs in the Google issue tracker, while the Android Beta community is on Reddit.
Which are the Pixel devices getting Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1
Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1 (BP31.250502.008) with the May 2025 security patch is available for the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 8a, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and Pixel 9a, as well as the Android Emulator.
AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
LinkedIn lays off hundreds as tech giants continue to cut jobs
In October 2023, LinkedIn laid off 668 employees across its engineering, talent, and finance teams. Earlier that year, in May, the company cut 716 jobs across its sales, operations, and support teams as part of efforts to streamline operations and reduce organizational layers to enable faster decision-making. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Microsoft-owned jobs and networking platform LinkedIn has joined the growing list of tech giants laying off employees, cutting 281 positions across to a recent filing with the state's employment department, the company confirmed the layoffs, with software engineers being the most affected. Other impacted roles include senior product managers and talent account development comes just weeks after Microsoft announced it would eliminate 3% of its global workforce, around 6,000 October 2023, LinkedIn laid off 668 employees across its engineering, talent, and finance teams. Earlier that year, in May, the company cut 716 jobs across its sales, operations, and support teams as part of efforts to streamline operations and reduce organizational layers to enable faster its latest round of job cuts, Google laid off 200 employees in May from its global business unit, responsible for sales and partnerships. The search major told Reuters that it was making small changes across the teams to drive collaboration and better serve its and Instagram parent Meta had announced reformed performance assessment in January earlier this year, leading to job cuts in February that saw 3,600 employees, or 5% of the workforce, laid off. Staff working on Facebook, Horizon virtual reality (VR) platform and logistics were hit the laid off 100 employees from its digital services arm in August 2024, with the team working for Apple Books and Apple Bookstore being hit the hardest. Some engineers and staff working on Apple News were also impacted.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
LinkedIn lays off hundreds as tech giants continue to cut jobs
Live Events Microsoft-owned jobs and networking platform LinkedIn has joined the growing list of tech giants laying off employees, cutting 281 positions across to a recent filing with the state's employment department, the company confirmed the layoffs, with software engineers being the most affected. Other impacted roles include senior product managers and talent account development comes just weeks after Microsoft announced it would eliminate 3% of its global workforce, around 6,000 October 2023, LinkedIn laid off 668 employees across its engineering, talent, and finance teams. Earlier that year, in May, the company cut 716 jobs across its sales, operations, and support teams as part of efforts to streamline operations and reduce organizational layers to enable faster its latest round of job cuts, Google laid off 200 employees in May from its global business unit, responsible for sales and partnerships. The search major told Reuters that it was making small changes across the teams to drive collaboration and better serve its and Instagram parent Meta had announced reformed performance assessment in January earlier this year, leading to job cuts in February that saw 3,600 employees, or 5% of the workforce, laid off. Staff working on Facebook, Horizon virtual reality (VR) platform and logistics were hit the laid off 100 employees from its digital services arm in August 2024, with the team working for Apple Books and Apple Bookstore being hit the hardest. Some engineers and staff working on Apple News were also impacted.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Apple's 'Big AI' problem that Google, Microsoft and Amazon do not have to deal with
While tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are advancing rapidly in the AI sector, is reportedly at a disadvantage. Despite its efforts to push forward with AI initiatives, the iPhone maker lacks the essential infrastructure and long-term investment in core AI technologies that its competitors have spent years, if not decades, developing, a new report indicates. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now For example, Apple delayed its planned overhaul of Siri earlier this year because the upgrade, meant to usher Siri into the generative AI era, wasn't ready. According to a report by Business Insider, if Apple wants to modernise Siri to its competitors' levels, it may need to build critical AI components from scratch—an expensive, time-consuming process that could take years. Otherwise, it may be forced to rely more heavily on competitors or acquire startups at scale to catch up. Google's decades-long head start in AI technology For having a successful AI product, one needs to have certain AI building blocks. Google already has nearly all the core AI building blocks in place, while Microsoft and Amazon have some of them. Google controls the deep stack of technologies powering its AI building blocks -- data, chips, data centres, cloud business and means to disseminate the products -- which is why it is able to launch AI consumer tools like Veo, Flow, Imagen and so on. In 2017, Google invented Transformer, the breakthrough architecture behind modern generative AI. Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), Google's AI chips, have been around since 2016 and are now integral to both Google products and external developers using Google Cloud. Google also benefits from decades of web indexing and data collection. This immense dataset supports the training of its powerful AI models, datacenters and a cloud business to make these tools available to customers. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now How Amazon and Microsoft are thriving in this space while Apple is not Both Microsoft and Amazon have some of these building blocks, including AI models, cloud infrastructure, dedicated AI units working on the technology and even partnerships. Apple, on the other hand, lacks many of these assets and doesn't have this kind of access or infrastructure. Apple still doesn't operate enough large-scale data centres and relies on Google data centres for functions like iCloud backups. For recent AI training, Apple even requested access to Google's TPUs—essentially borrowing infrastructure from a direct rival. Reportedly, Apple is also about 7 years behind Google in developing AI chips for data centers. When it comes to data, though Apple has access to huge volumes of data from its devices, it has been conservative in using that data for AI training due to its privacy-first policies. This restricts its ability to build and refine large-scale models. The report also said that Apple has also lagged in recruiting and retaining top AI talent. How this may be a risk to Apple If generative AI ends up reshaping how people interact with computing devices, including smartphones and laptops, Apple's delayed investment in AI infrastructure could become a critical problem. While other tech giants are rolling out robust, end-to-end AI systems, Apple is still piecing together the basic components.
