Android 16 is formally right here, and it contains Google’s tackle the iPhone’s Reside Actions. On Tuesday, Google announced that Reside Updates are rolling out first with ride-share and meals supply apps, permitting you to trace the progress of your experience or supply with persistent, real-time notifications.
Android 16 may also clear up your basic notification drawer by routinely grouping alerts from the identical app.
One other replace goals to enhance name high quality for folks carrying listening to aids with their machine. Proper now, Google says most LE listening to units use their front-facing microphones for audio enter, although these mics are supposed to decide up the sound of individuals chatting with you quite than your individual voice. If you happen to’re carrying listening to aids whereas on a name, now you can change to utilizing your cellphone’s microphone as a substitute. Android 16 contains native management for listening to units, which helps you to modify quantity, set a default microphone for calls, and extra.
Moreover, now you can allow Superior Safety — a feature that protects at-risk users from dangerous apps, unsafe web sites, on-line assaults, and extra — in your cellphone. Google is readying the launch of its DeX-like desktop experience for Android with customized keyboard shortcuts, too, which builders can start testing beginning right now earlier than a wider rollout later this yr.
Google additionally introduced a number of different smaller however notable updates coming to its apps. That features the power to set a customized icon for RCS group chats in Google Messages, and mute notifications on group chats for particular durations. Google is bringing a redesigned editor to Photos to extra units as effectively, together with a method so as to add extra time to your Safety Check.
In the meantime, Google House is getting an replace that ought to make it simpler to handle good house merchandise from totally different locations, as it would now allow you to create shortcuts for particular units for Favorites in Google Residence. Meaning you may pin your safety cameras to your Google TV, or pin your thermostat controls to your Put on OS smartwatch. When you’ve got a Put on OS watch, you’ll now be capable of faucet metropolis transit playing cards with out opening your Google Pockets app, too.