Android 16 goes stable for Google Pixel phones

Are you ready for the summer of Android 16? We’re just a week into June already, and while we missed the initially rumored June 3 launch, Android 16 is finally making its formal debut, as Google settles into its new release schedule.

Android 16 may not represent a huge overhaul of the mobile operating system we’ve come to know and love, but it does introduce some major efforts to modernize Google’s most important platform, including laying the groundwork for Material 3 Expressive redesigns coming down the pike.

Let’s take a look at what Android’s latest release delivers, and how you can get your hands on it!

Android 16 productivity, accessibility, and safety features

For its Sweet Sixteen release, Android is really growing up, and part of that maturity means an increased focus on some of the “boring” stuff that’s nonetheless super-important for our increasingly connected lives. We’ve already gotten of a taste of Android 16 Advanced Protection through Google’s beta program, and now it’s going to have the chance to give a whole lot more users what’s essentially an “idiot-proof” system for locking down your phone.

The genius of Advanced Protection is that it doesn’t overwhelm users with options, and offers a simple one-stop ​​for making some of the most impactful changes that can help secure your mobile experience. Instead of having to hunt down esoteric options like restricting connections over 2G cellular networks and insecure Wi-Fi, Advanced Protection does all that legwork for you.

Notifications are a lot more important than a lot of people probably realize, and can heavily influence how we interact with which apps, when. That makes even subtle changes to them worth paying attention to, but with Android 16 the updates are anything but subtle. In addition to support for upcoming live updates and their ability to keep us informed on the progress of things like delivery orders, we’re also getting new notification grouping to help cut down on the noise and help your most relevant notifications stand out.

Android 16’s got some handy new accessibility tweaks for users with special hearing needs. If you’re using Bluetooth LE hearing aids, the platform will give you new control over the microphone it taps into when making voice calls, letting you override the earbuds for mic input and swap to your phone mic for increased clarity. You’ll also discover new dedicated volume controls for hearing aids, helping you to more easily manage your preferences with them.

Much of today’s release isn’t about what you can do right now, though, and Google’s also getting a lot of moving pieces in place for changes that we won’t be able to appreciate straight away. Those include some significant updates to app windowing on Android’s biggest screens, helping offer a more desktop-like interface. If you just saw everything Apple’s doing with iPad OS 26 at WWDC and were feeling a little jealous, well — worry not. Google’s on the case, and you can see for yourself soon.

Android 16 availability

Google’s latest Android update lands today as an update available for Pixel devices. Just like the beta releases we’ve seen for this cycle, that means that eligibility extends down to the Pixel 6 series. This includes the Pixel 6a and all subsequent A-series phones, as well as the Pixel Tablet and both generations of Google’s foldable Pixel.

The vast majority of Pixel owners can just sit tight and wait for a notification letting them know that their update is ready to install. If you’re feeling particularly impatient, your best bet is to manually download and push an OTA update to your device — you can follow the same guide we used during the beta. Testers who have already been a part of the beta will have option to install Android 16 stable without downgrading back to 15 and losing all their data first.