There’s good, albeit boring, news for the future of Android phones today. Google is officially rolling out Android 16 Beta 3 for those running it on a compatible device. This version is what Google calls a “platform stability” release, meaning developers can go ahead and code their apps to this. With Google I/O approaching in less than two months, it can only mean one thing: the full release of Android 16 is close and imminent.
Why is this update dull? It mainly includes under-the-hood improvements, security enhancements, and little tweaks across the interface. It’s nothing particularly flashy and marketing-worthy like Material You was when it launched with Android 12 in 2021. That’s not to say there isn’t something worthy about the update coming soon to an Android phone near you.
One feature I’m particularly excited about with Android 16 is broadcast audio support through Auracast. I experienced a demonstration of the technology a few years back at CES. I loved the idea of dropping in on a collective audio stream, like an announcement channel, from my Bluetooth headphones. Android 16 Beta 3 enables Auracast for Pixel 9 devices. However, it only works with LE Audio hearing aids for now, which Google positions as part of its ethos to “enhance audio accessibility” on the platform. (Auracast is also available on Samsung’s Galaxy devices with One UI 7 and Android 15.)
I’ll admit, the advent of Android 16 isn’t as interesting as it used to be. It used to be that a new version of Android meant all these new features to laud about and look forward to. For many years, the conversation around the upcoming version of Android would be just as exciting and noteworthy as Apple’s updates to iOS. As Google moves further away from Android as a flagship experience—the operating system now exists more as a skeleton for mobile phones than the brains—it’s Gemini and Google’s AI efforts that take center stage. Google I/O will likely be focused entirely on Gemini’s abilities on the phone and other hardware rather than Android.
If you are on a Pixel device and feel brave, this is about the time it’d be safest to run Android 16 in beta on your daily device. You can visit the developer’s site to learn more about that. It’s super easy, and all it requires is registering a Pixel device and waiting for the over-the-air update.
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