What’s new in Android 16: custom icons, split notification and settings panel, animated weather effects

Google has released a new beta version of Android 16. Although at first glance, there are few changes, signs of important updates were found in the code. Among them are the return of the ability to change the shape of icons on the home screen, a completely updated notification panel, and other innovations.

What’s new in Android 16 Beta 3?

The first beta versions of Android 16 did not show any significant changes in the user interface. Although there were minor adjustments, they didn’t seem revolutionary. However, Beta 3 showed signs of major updates that could significantly change the user experience.

One of the main innovations is Notification Summaries. Lines describing this feature have been found in the Beta 3 code, but even more interesting is the complete rethinking of the notification panel. Rumors about the separation of the Quick Settings and Notifications panels have been circulating for a while now, but Beta 3 offers more details.

The updated design includes:

• Display the clock at the top of the panel (lock screen style).
• A new panel with buttons: «Clear all», notification settings, and notification history.
• Opaque background behind notifications, which dramatically changes the look compared to the current translucent panel.

A new gesture system:

• Swiping from the top left corner opens the notification panel.
• Swiping from the top right corner opens the Quick Settings panel.
• There is no possibility to swipe left/right to switch between two panels, as it is implemented in One UI, MIUI, etc. Instead, there are buttons for switching at the top.

All of these changes are not yet enabled by default, but it’s clear that Google is working on a major update.

Return of custom icon shapes

Another important innovation is the ability to change the shape of application icons on the home screen. This feature used to be available, but disappeared starting with Android 12. Judging by the data in Beta 3, Google is bringing this feature back in almost the same form as it was a few years ago.

It is also reported that Google is also testing a new feature for the lock screen – changing the shape of interface elements, similar to OxygenOS/ColorOS and Samsung One UI 7. There were also mentions of adding animated weather effects to the lock screen.

When can we expect these updates?

None of the new features in Beta 3 are currently activated for users, and there is no guarantee that all of them will be available in the final version of Android 16. Google plans to release a stable version of Android 16 earlier than usualbut this is not the last major update.