The first Android 16 public beta is here – and it borrows a key iOS feature

Android 16 is on the way (Image credit: Google / Future)

The first Android 16 public beta is now here
You can install it now if you have a newer Pixel phone
Live Updates is one of the new features

Google has pushed out the first public beta version of Android 16, which means early adopters can give it a spin: and among the new features already spotted by users is Android's take on Live Activities in iOS.

As announced by Google (via Android Police), the Android equivalent of Live Activities is Live Updates. These persistent updates on screen "help users monitor and quickly access important ongoing activities" Google says.

Right now, the updates are "suggested only for ride sharing, food delivery, and navigation use cases", but we can expect more categories to be added over time. Eventually, any developer who wants to should be able to take advantage of them.

More to come

Live Activities on iOS (Image credit: Apple)

There's quite a lot more in the first Android 16 public beta, including improved support for apps on larger screens: If you use a larger display (like the one on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold), you should see less in the way of letterboxing.

Then we have improved support for high-resolution video recording and editing, a more consistent predictive back experience (where you see a preview of the screen you're going back to), and preparations for deeper Gemini integration.

We can look forward to plenty more in the way of new features as the Android beta testing phase continues – numerous upgrades have already been rumored, including changes to notifications. A full launch of Android 16 is expected in June.

Right now, if you want to give the beta a try, you need to have a Pixel phone (a Pixel 6 or later) and be enrolled in the Android Beta Program (which is free). As always with betas, expect bugs and crashes – we wouldn't recommend doing this on a phone you rely on.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.