Google Officially Releases its Android 16 Operating System; New Pixel Update and Pixel Drop Rolling Out
The California-based tech maker – Google has now officially released its Android 16 operating system. Along with this, the brand has also rolled out the Pixel Update and Pixel Drop to its eligible Pixel devices as well.
Here’s more about these latest updates.
Android 16 – Officially Released
Google’s latest Android 16 operating system has been brought out as the earliest major Android release of the past few years, and it features the new Material 3 Expressive design. Along with this latest OS, added features have also been introduced to make Android more seamless and accessible.
First among the newly-added features is the live updates functionality for supported food delivery and ride share apps. Real-time information will be delivered to users on the Android ecosystem with this functionality without having to open the respective apps, and the brand is already working with app partners. To add, the live updates feature will be arriving on Now Bar (of Samsung) and Live Alerts (of OPPO and OnePlus). Force-grouping notifications is also a related feature that has been introduced with Android 16, and the notifications from a single app will all be grouped together as one to offer a organized and uncluttered appearance.
Enhancements have also been added for people using hearing aids. Users can now switch to the device microphone for making calls in noisy environments, and a native control for hearing aids has been added on Android 16 to enable users to control the hearing aids right from the phone.
Advanced Protection has also been introduced on Android 16 as the brand’s strongest mobile device protection. Users will be offered protection against harmful apps, online attacks, scam calls, unsafe websites, and many more with the help of the Advanced Protection feature.
In terms of productivity, Android 16 brings desktop windowing functionality in collaboration with Samsung, offering features such as open/move/resize multiple windows on a single screen in large display devices. It will be rolled out later this year on compatible devices and at the same time, the brand also plans to bring out custom keyboard shortcuts and taskbar overflows too. Also, the connectivity for external display will also be introduced with future updates, enabling tablet and smartphone users to have a desktop-like experience.
Features like HDR Screenshots, Identity Check, Adaptive Refresh Rate, and many more are also part of Android 16. To note, Material 3 Expressive design updates will be coming later this year to Android 16 and Wear OS 6 as well.
Pixel Update and Pixel Drop – Rolling Out
Google is now currently rolling out the June 2025 Android Security Patch along with the Pixel Update this month, and this same update will be bringing the Android 16 operating system too to the eligible devices running currently on the Android 15 operating system. The update roll-out will be taking place in a phase-wise manner over the next two weeks. Bug fixes and improvements are part of this update, and the known issues with the user interface, system, framework, network, Bluetooth, sensors, biometrics, display & graphics, and camera will be fixed.
The eligible devices (global models) include:
Eligible Devices |
Software Versions |
| Pixel 6 | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 6 Pro | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 6a | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 7 | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 7 Pro | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 7a | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel Tablet | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel Fold | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 8 | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 8 Pro | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 8a | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 9 | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 9 Pro | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 9 Pro XL | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
| Pixel 9 Pro Fold | BP2A.250605.031.A3 |
| Pixel 9a | BP2A.250605.031.A2 |
Coming to the new Pixel Drop features that have been rolled out (or rolling out), Pixel VIPs widget, AI Custom Stickers on Gboard, and Hearing Aids with LE Audio are now available on eligible Pixel smartphones.
Pixel VIPs enables users to view the locations, important dates and recent messages, as well as calls from WhatsApp of their loved/favorite ones, and it is a Pixel-exclusive feature. With AI Custom Stickers, users can simply type and create stickers right on Gboard and send it to their chats. The Hearing Aids with LE Audio feature is also a good addition as it will enable users to take calls on their hearing devices and control its operation on the Pixel phone as pointed out above.
