Google has once again teased the next Android 16 preview update with Beta 3 officially coming Thursday, March 13.
This one-day teaser started last month and continues today from the @AndroidDev X account: “We’re dropping Android 16 Beta 3 tomorrow! Make sure to check back in here for the release.
These teasers — which are for developers — are in no way indicative of major changes as seen with Beta 2. The biggest user-facing update last month was the ability to launch Google Wallet (instead of Pixel Camera) with a double press of the power button.
We also got an integrated “Extra dim” preference and Settings > System > Languages & region > Region + Measurement system. There was a visual regression with the background color of the Settings apps (that will hopefully be fixed tomorrow). Google also introduced a “Switch users’ homescreen widget.
That said, Android 16 Beta 3 is notable for bringing Platform Stability. This milestone includes “final APIs and behaviors,” so any major changes have to be in this release as the preview cycle winds down.
Looking ahead, we will have at least one more update with Android 16 Beta 4. That April release brings the first release candidate. There might be “other final beta releases” ahead of the June launch.
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