Google’s Magic Portrait Finds A New Way To Inject Life Into Your Lockscreen
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Summary
- Android 16 introduces the Magic Portrait feature for unique customization.
- Customizable frames and weather features enhance still images on your phone.
- Google’s Material 3 Expressive will bring major UI changes with Android 16.
Google offers plenty of great options when it comes to customizing the look and feel of your Android phone. Not only does it provide a variety of different wallpapers, which it regularly updates, but it also provides ways to create new looks as well.
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Of course, there’s always room to grow, and Google knows that as well, with the brand showcasing a new way to add some flare to your device’s home screen with Android 16’s Magic Portrait feature, which was first reported by the folks at Android Authority.
A new look and feel with Android 16
For the most part, it’s a fairly simple addition, providing users with a new way to customize an existing still image in their gallery by adding a new frame to the subject. It goes a little further by allowing the frame to be customized, with new shapes and colors.
While it isn’t a dramatic change, it does provide some contrast, highlighting the subject of the image in a fantastic way. If you’re not into flashy wallpapers, this could be just what your device needs. In addition, there’s also an option to add weather animations.
You can go the dynamic route, which will add weather effects that are current to your local setting, or just set one for default, like a snowy day, if that’s the kind of thing you want to see. With that said, this is just one of many changes that are coming.
Android 16 is on the cusp of release, and will bring many new features. Perhaps one of the more exciting elements of the latest OS update by Google is the move to Material 3 Expressive. This could end up being one of the biggest UI updates for the brand in quite some time.
Although we don’t have access to Material 3 Expressive quite yet, we’ve been seeing and hearing little things here and there, giving us a small sample of what’s to come. Again, Android 16 is still in beta, so if you want to try it out, and you have a compatible phone, this is the perfect time to give it a try.
Otherwise, you’ll just need to be a little more patient and wait for the release, which is expected to arrive in June. And while Android is going to be something to look out for, Google I/O 2025 is giving us an in-depth look at what to expect from the company this year in other areas of its business.
