What you need to know
Google has unveiled Android 16 QPR2 Beta 3 for Pixel devices, marking a significant step forward with new features and essential stability fixes. This update comes just a couple of months after the Android 16 QPR1 rollout, which introduced the visually appealing Material 3 Expressive design language to older Pixel models.
The latest beta version, while primarily focused on enhancing stability and addressing bugs, also brings forth some exciting new functionalities. Notably, a “+” button has been added next to app shortcuts, streamlining the process of pinning them directly to the home screen. This small yet impactful change simplifies user interaction and enhances the overall experience.
In addition to the new shortcut feature, Android 16 QPR2 Beta 3 introduces a Live Caption shortcut within the volume controls and larger icons in the search bar, further refining the user interface.
As for the stability improvements, the release notes highlight several critical fixes:
- Issues with Google Play System Updates failing to install for some users.
- Home screen shortcuts previously appearing as blank gray circles.
- Inconsistent coloring of the Wallet icon on the lock screen.
- Battery charging anomalies when adaptive charging was enabled.
- Occasional malfunction of the swipe-up gesture from the bottom of the screen.
- Selected themes not applying correctly on the first attempt.
- Rainbow artifacts in 50MP images captured with the ultrawide or telephoto lens.
- Poor battery performance attributed to excessive CPU usage by the launcher, especially on foldable devices.
- Incorrect routing of Bluetooth audio during calls.
- Access issues to all 6GHz Wi-Fi networks for users in New Zealand.
- Crashes in the Terminal app when changing the device’s UI font size while open.
- Inability to type special characters like PLACEHOLDERaca784aa48c98daa, PLACEHOLDER73f805f07b6b8b8e, or
#in the GUI terminal. - Laggy animations and unresponsive UI when swiping lock screen widgets and the notification shade simultaneously.
- Screen unresponsiveness or freezing upon unlocking the device.
- Display freezes and screen noise issues.
- Unexpected device crashes.
For those eager to experience the latest features, enrolling your Pixel in the Android Beta Program is the way to go. Over-the-air updates are already being rolled out, but if the update hasn’t reached your device yet, you can opt to sideload or flash the factory image manually. Alternatively, if patience is your virtue, the stable version of Android 16 QPR2 is anticipated to be available for all users by December 2025.
