The Best New Features of the Second Android 16 Beta Update
We’re now preparing for the second public beta of Android 16, which brings new features in various areas including photography, system security, device management, and foldable form factors.
Google’s official blog post announcing the beta release leads the way with media and camera updates. If you want more control over how your photos and videos end up looking, you can use advanced manual controls that include exposure, color temperature, and tint. There’s also support for Ultra HDR images if you save pictures in the HEIC image format.
These are essentially new hybrid options for fully automatic and fully manual processing, so those who are more comfortable playing with settings like white balance will be able to choose the adjustments they make. This will also mean that a wider range of effects are possible without any additional changes to the application.
Some other features have not been officially announced by Google but have been noticed by the Android community. Most of them were reported by the Android Authority team. For example, they’ve discovered new protections that limit what you can do during calls, so you won’t be able to download apps or change any accessibility settings while you’re actually on a call.
Cause? These are the two most common tactics scammers use to try to gain access to phones. Having this protection in place will reduce the likelihood of malware being installed or your phone being remotely controlled.
The latest Android 16 beta also lets you double-press the power button to launch the camera or Google Wallet. Previously, the camera would simply open, with no alternative, so this gives you a little more flexibility (and it’s possible there will be more alternatives in the future).
There’s also a new widget that simplifies the process of switching users on an Android device. Switching to another Google account requires just a tap on the widget, so there’s no need to dive into the settings menu or quick settings panel.
Meanwhile, if you own a Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold , it looks like Android 16 beta 2 has added a “robust open/close detection” feature that should be useful: As 9to5Google reports, this means the device will be able to more accurately detect its open or closed state even with magnetic accessories attached (these accessories can sometimes interfere with the operation of the associated sensors).
However, this feature doesn’t seem to be fully implemented yet, so perhaps Google hasn’t mentioned it. Presumably, after some tweaking, it will be available for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and other foldable Android devices.
A small interface tweak means the Extra Dim setting is now more accessible on Pixel 9 phones, although it looks like there’s more information and options appearing on the Battery Health page that’s expected to come to Pixel phones.
There are also some minor changes to Health and Fitness permissions: Access to data like heart rate and skin temperature will now be granted on a more granular basis, which should make it easier for users to see which apps are accessing which bits of data (and what data is passing through the Health Connect protocol).
As always with beta updates like these, bugs are to be expected, and any of these features may be removed or changed before the full launch of Android 16, which is expected sometime in the second quarter of the year. If you have a compatible Pixel device, you can try the beta right now , but it’s not recommended for a primary device that you rely on.