Latest news with #Material3
Phone Arena
14 hours ago
- General
- Phone Arena
How to disable a battery consuming new look for Pixel in Android 16 QPR 1 beta
If you own a Pixel 6 or later model and installed the Android 16 QPR 1 Beta 1 update, you might have noticed some changes. The beta software, which includes the September 2025 Pixel Feature Drop, includes the Material 3 Expressive design system designed to give Android users a more consistent experience across the platform. For example, Google has added a blurred background to the Pixel app drawer and Quick Settings. You can really see this effect in the app drawer when you swipe up from the Google Search bar near the bottom of the screen. The color of the blurred background is based on the color theme found on the Wallpaper that you are using on your Pixel. With the blur, you can't see what is behind the icons found in your app drawer, but you can see that something is there. It is similar to looking through frosted glass. As nice as this effect is, using it will eat away at your Pixel's battery life. Additionally, such a design just might not be your cup of tea. There is one way to eliminate the frosted glass look and return to a solid background. All you need to do is go into Settings > Battery and toggle on Battery Saver. Besides dropping the frosted glass effect, turning on the Battery Saver also restricts apps from running in the background which slows battery consumption and data use. It also turns off the Always-on display. Pixel app drawer with Battery Saver off (L), and Battery Saver on (R), | Image credit-PhoneArena Not only will you save battery life by having your phone not run the blurred background, the other features of Battery Saver should also improve your battery life although it comes at the expense of your phone's performance. Pixel Quick Settings with Battery Saver off (L), and Battery Saver on (R), | Image credit-PhoneArena Another thing to consider. If your Pixel is running Android 16 QPR 1 Beta 1 and you don't see the blurred background in the app drawer or with the Quick Settings panel on the screen, check to see if you have Battery Saver enabled. And that brings us to a bug on the beta software. An issue with the QPR 1 Beta 1 update is preventing me from getting to the page where I can turn on or off Battery Saver. I assume it is a bug and until Google sends out a fix, you can get around this problem by tapping the Settings icon and using the search bar at the top of the screen, type Battery Saver. A toggle will appear on the page which will allow you to enable or disable the feature.
Android Authority
a day ago
- Business
- Android Authority
Google Phone's incoming call screen could get a facelift you can choose (APK teardown)
Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority TL;DR Google is testing two interfaces for the incoming call screen in the Phone app. Users may be able to choose between a pill-based horizontal swipe UI or an iPhone-like single-tap UI for answering/declining calls. However, users may not have the choice to retain the current vertical swipe UI, which is a shame. Google has been testing a redesign of the Phone app for a while now, primarily focusing on how users answer or decline calls. Back in September 2024, we spotted Google working to abandon the swipe actions for incoming calls in favor of dedicated accept and decline buttons, similar to the iPhone. More recently, in March 2025, we spotted Google testing yet another new pill-based UI for left-right swipe gestures. Google doesn't seem to have made up its mind on which UI to go with, and that's great for users, as it seems it could give them a choice between the two. Interestingly, this choice could co-exist alongside the Phone app's Material 3 Expressive redesign. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. In the latest Phone by Google app v177.0.763181107 beta release, strings indicate that users can choose between the horizontal swipe gesture and the single-tap buttons on the incoming call screen. Code Copy Text answer_method_preference_list_key Incoming call gesture Horizontal swipe Single tap While we couldn't activate the current iteration of the new UIs right away, we have previously seen both of them. For a recap, this is what the current incoming call UI looks like in the Google Phone app: For incoming calls, you get a single button, which you can swipe up to answer the call or swipe down to reject the call. The upcoming single-tap button layout for the incoming call UI will possibly look like this: This layout is similar to the incoming calls UI on the Phone app on iPhones currently on iOS 18, but OEMs like Samsung swap the button position on Galaxy phones running One UI. You can see both in the images below: Incoming calls UI on the iOS 18.1 Phone app on Apple iPhones Incoming calls UI on the Samsung Phone app on Samsung Galaxy phones The second choice that users could get is this pill-based UI for the left and right swipe gestures: When the call arrives, the Decline text is colored red and the Answer text is colored green, while the phone button in the centre animates to showcase a phone ring. The text changes to black color in a second once the animation is done, but the colors can be transitioned back into once again when you swipe right to answer the call or swipe left to reject the call. You can see the animation in this video below: Either option will require retraining muscle memory for Google Phone app users, though users switching from iPhone to Android will welcome the iPhone-like single-tap UI. Since Google seems to be giving users the choice, nothing is stopping the company from keeping the existing vertical swipe and offering it as a choice, too. We hope the company considers this if it indeed is going ahead with the incoming call UI refresh. We don't know if Google will do so, and we'll keep you updated when we learn more. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
a day ago
- Business
- Android Authority
First look: Google's Phone app is getting a tasty Android 16 redesign (APK teardown)
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR An Android Authority teardown has revealed Material 3 Expressive design tweaks coming to Google's Phone app. The visual tweaks currently apply to the incoming call and in-call menus. This comes after we discovered visual changes coming to several other Google apps as well. Google is working on a visual overhaul of Android 16, using its Material 3 Expressive design. We've already spotted a few Google apps with similar tweaks, and we've now uncovered a major overhaul of Google's Phone app. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. We cracked open the Phone by Google app (version 177.0.763181107-publicbeta-pixel2024) and enabled the app's redesign. The visual tweaks apply to the incoming call and in-call menus. Check out the gallery below for a comparison. New UI New UI New UI New UI New UI Old UI Old UI Old UI Old UI Old UI The redesigned screens reflect the Material 3 Expressive style, featuring much larger contact names and caller photos. The redesigned app mostly eliminates simple circular buttons too in favor of larger, oval-shaped buttons that change shape when pressed. The answer call button still has the same circular icon, though, but the end call button is much larger and pill-shaped. There are several other smaller tweaks too. These include the omitted 'call from' text on the incoming call screen, the phone number being shown after you answer the call, and the redesigned 'more' menu in line with Material 3 Expressive. The Google Phone app also offers a little animation for your incoming caller's profile picture before you answer the call. Check out a slowed-down version of this and other app animations below. These Google Phone tweaks also come after we discovered Material 3 Expressive changes coming to the Google One, Google Meet, and Google TV apps. We expect plenty more Google apps to get visual changes in the coming months. In any event, we're glad to see Google making progress on redesigning its apps. But you won't necessarily need Android 16 to see these overhauled apps, as we're expecting these app redesigns to be available on earlier Android versions too. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Phone Arena
2 days ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
This hidden feature might finally give Google Pixel users what Samsung fans have had for years
Receive the latest Android news By subscribing you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy Android 16 According to system logs, the button reportedly tries to open an app called Pixel Customization Packs, which isn't included in the current beta build. The chip is supposed to show theme recommendations, but it doesn't work without the missing now, it's unclear what the finished feature will look like, how many themes will be available, what exactly they will change, or if users will be able to make and share their own themes. Still, the signs suggest Google is at least testing a more complete approach to personalization, something that has been missing from stock Android for to other Android phone makers, Google has always taken a simpler approach to customization. Brands like OPPO, Xiaomi, and Samsung have long offered full theme stores that change icons, sounds, animations, and more. However, Google has preferred to keep things subtle and uniform, something that Android 16 could be with the more Expressive Material 3 changes already present inQPR1, these early signs of theme pack support hint at a new direction for the Pixel software experience. While we don't know when or if this feature will officially roll out, it's clear that Google is at least experimenting with the idea — and that could be a welcome change for users looking for more control over how their Pixel phones look and feel.
Android Authority
2 days ago
- Business
- Android Authority
Here's a closer look at Google's Material 3 Expressive interface upgrades for Meet (APK teardown)
TL;DR Material 3 Expressive is updating the look and feel of Google apps across Android, and is set to arrive later this year. Last week at I/O, Google offered devs a quick peek at how Meet is evolving for Material 3 Expressive. We've now managed to get a hands-on look at further Material changes coming to Meet. Google has just drawn the curtain back on Material 3 Expressive, and over the past few weeks now, we've been getting some of our first looks at how this updated design language will impact some of our favorite apps — to say nothing of Android itself. During its I/O 2025 sessions last week, the company shared a tiny preview of how those changes will impact Meet, sharing the graphic you see above. That's a fine start, but we're not about to patiently wait around for that overhaul to roll out, and have put together an early preview for you. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. For this advanced look, we're working with version of Meet. We've convinced the app to turn on its Material 3 Expressive changes ahead of schedule, so while none of these are visible in the app just yet, they should represent where Google's development efforts at least currently lie. In all these sets of screenshots, we're looking at Meet as we have it now on the left, and the updated Material 3 Expressive interface on the right. For starters, we've got an update to the view for your call history with greatly improved contrast. That's a trend that continues with the screen for manually joining a meeting, going for both enhanced readability and a more playful, rounded look. We also see a notice about the upcoming sunsetting of legacy Duo features, rendered with this new UI. We start seeing some more pronounced changes with these next screens. Once you've selected a meeting, the view when you're getting ready to join now features that big, bold button we first saw in Google's teaser last week. That's a change that similarly impacts the UI for direct person-to-person calls. While one consequence of everything getting bigger means that we get slightly less information packed on-screen at once, we have to say that these new layouts feel a hell of a lot cleaner than before, and come across a lot more polished — Google is clearly making decisions here intent on making full use of available screen real estate. Material 3 Expressive is set to formally start changing the face of Android apps at some point later this year, following the stable release of Android 16. While Google hasn't yet explicitly confirmed as much, our time spent working on these early previews suggests to us that we could very well see app updates like this one come to Android 15, as well. For now, though, we'll just have to wait and see. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
