The lead-up to Android 16 has been … interesting. We’re four betas into the update’s rollout, and with each new beta version released, the public-facing changes are both minor and few and far between. However, more significant changes have been found under the hood, suggesting Android 16 will be a more substantial update than initially anticipated.

Now, that point has never been more true.

Android has taken on a lot of different looks in the 16+ years since its debut — some loved, some reviled. Lately, though, it’s felt like we haven’t been seeing a ton on focus on freshening up the system UI very much. But that could soon be about to change, with new Material Design standards incoming. While it could still be some time before Google is ready to push its new design live, we just managed to bring you an early preview of how this major Android UI overhaul looks like it’s taking shape.

Mind you: This is still probably a very early preview, and we don’t have a ton of confidence that much of this will be ready in time for Android 16’s formal arrival. But even if the bulk of these changes don’t roll out until sometime in the Android 17 cycle, what we’ve uncovered sure suggests a cohesive effort towards bringing Android a new visual identity. But is this new look one that you’re a fan of?

I bet we all have a love/hate relationship with notifications. They’ve become a necessary part of our digital lives, yet they can also be endlessly annoying and overwhelming if not controlled. While Google has grander plans for notifications in Android 16, and it’s about time, many of us need a solution today. I can vouch for one particular app to tame your notification demons. It’s called Buzzkill.

What is Buzzkill, and what does it do?

Every year, Google uses its annual developer conference — I/O — to showcase what’s new and what’s next for Android and its other major platforms. Google I/O 2025 officially kicks off on May 20, but this year, the company is trying something a little different: Android is getting its own dedicated show ahead of the main event.

Google is calling it “The Android Show: I/O Edition.” It’s a pre-recorded broadcast that will stream live on YouTube on May 13 at 10 AM PT (1 PM ET). So, what can we expect from the first-ever pre-I/O event focused entirely on Android?

Google is preparing a new Material Design theme to give Android a more colorful look. We recently got an early look at the redesigned Settings page featuring this ‘expressive’ theme in Android 16 beta 4. Now, we have spotted the visual changes coming to the Google account management page.

A few months ago, I wrote about a few of the things that I wanted Google to steal from Safari and add to Chrome. It’s no big deal, I figured. We voice opinions all the time, and they don’t usually go very far beyond having strangers on the internet agree with us — it’s just kind of the way it goes. This time, though, I feel like someone out there was listening, because the latest update to Chrome looks like it’s adopting the very first suggestion on my list. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to move the address bar from the top of your display to the bottom, and I couldn’t be happier.

What’s so great about an address bar at the bottom of Chrome?

Of all the Google products I use daily, Android Auto is perhaps my favorite. Whenever I hop into my car, it reliably boots up with all my apps and audio ready to go, alongside my Google Maps screen detailing nearby traffic. It works flawlessly as a driving assistant, but it’s more of a challenge to use as a passenger.

Android Auto isn’t passenger-friendly

On the surface, the upcoming Android 16 release looks similar to the past several Android releases. That’s because the user interface changes Google is working on are still under development and aren’t ready to be shown to the public, including the redesigned media output switcher we spotted today.

While digging into the new Android 16 Beta 4 update that Google released last week, we discovered the company is testing a new design for the media output switcher. This is the panel that pops out when you tap the chip in the top right of any media playback notification. It was introduced with Android 11 in 2020, but its UI has stayed relatively the same, except for a slight update in Android 14 which added a “Speakers & Displays” heading.

Shortcuts are everywhere on Android, and I use them daily to speed up my workflow. Long-time Android smartphone owners may be familiar with shortcuts that appear when icons are long-pressed or the various swiping gestures available that trigger a variety of other actions. But Android also hides a bevy of other shortcuts in a context menu when selecting text.

What are these hidden Android shortcuts?

Before you run off selecting everything on your device, let me first define what I’m specifically referring to.

Google has a tradition of hiding a little surprise inside each Android OS generation. It can be a quirky mini-game, an odd animation, or just something delightfully weird. These Android Easter eggs aren’t announced or advertised, but if you know where to tap, you’re rewarded with a glimpse into the Google dev team’s more playful side. We decided to go back through the vault and rank them all from worst to best.

We’re just rating the eggs here — it isn’t a guide on how to discover or use them. You can find the full list with all of those instructions in our comprehensive guide to the Android Easter eggs. However, they all start by going to Settings > About phone > Software information and then tapping on the Android version repeatedly.

Google switched things up with Android 15 when it decided to decouple the platform update from the Pixel 9 series. That decision gave both the software and hardware their own breathing room and independent timelines. The official stable Android 15 update has been out for the Pixel lineup for a while now, so we now move on and see what Google is cooking up for Android 16, now at Android 16 Beta 4. Here’s what we know about Android 16, its confirmed features, and leaks on the features we expect to see in the upcoming update in 2025.

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Earlier this week, Google quietly revealed — via its Google System Release Notes page — that it was rolling out a new auto-reboot feature to Android devices. The feature, as described, works similarly to Inactivity Reboot in iOS 18.1 or the auto-reboot feature in GrapheneOS. If an Android device has been locked for 3 consecutive days, then it’ll be automatically rebooted.

Late last month, Android Authority contributor AssembleDebug tore down the Google Play Services app and discovered a reference to this auto-reboot feature, known internally as “inactivity reboot.” He found evidence that the feature is tied to Advanced Protection Mode, a new feature in Android 16 that provides a way for the system and for third-party apps to know when users are enrolled in Google’s Advanced Protection Program. Advanced Protection Mode will serve as a one-click option to enable certain security features in the OS and in compatible third-party apps.

Update, April 16, 2025 (11:01 AM ET): For a moment there it looked like malware authors were about to have a field day, but it now seems that the CVE program has found a last-minute reprieve — on multiple fronts, as well.

Every feature addition that Google makes to Android and its other products always seems to funnel me back to the company’s original purpose: search. As its name suggests, Circle to Search is one very obvious example. Long-pressing the home button to pull up a search dialog that trawls the internet for content you’ve highlighted on your screen is as convenient as it is useful, but not perhaps in the way Google intended. Marketing material pitches Circle to Search as a tool for finding products to purchase in shows and other visual media. However, I’ve found a far more natural use for it (pun intended).

I’m an avid nature lover, and thrive on learning about new species I encounter on my travels. I have specific identification apps on my phone for identifying birds and plants based on images. However, they’re often slow to trigger and cumbersome, demanding too many seconds to activate or a still snapshot before my subject inevitably flies away. These tools are undoubtedly useful for shots that are already stored on my device, but they largely fail to suffice in the moment.

If your phone‘s battery has ever mysteriously plummeted overnight or died halfway through the day for no apparent reason, the culprit might be a misbehaving app in the background. Now, Google says it’s rolling out new tools that could help fix that problem, starting with a metric aimed at spotting one of the most common sources of battery drain.

As part of a new beta release, Android developers will now be able to track “excessive wake locks” using the Android Vitals dashboard in the Play Console. Wake locks are system-level functions that keep your phone awake even when it’s supposed to be idle. Some apps use them for legitimate reasons, like playing music or tracking location, but when used incorrectly, especially in the background, they can seriously hurt battery life.

We recently learned that Google was working on a new security feature for Android devices that would trigger an automatic reboot if the devices remain locked for three consecutive days. We first spotted evidence of the auto-reboot feature in a teardown late last month, with strings related to the feature suggesting it could arrive as part of Android 16’s Advanced Protection Mode. However, Google is rolling it out earlier than expected.

Google has included the new auto-reboot feature in the latest Google Play services update (version 25.14). As per the release notes on Google’s Play System updates page, the feature will automatically restart your device if it remains “locked for 3 consecutive days.” This new security feature works much like the auto-reboot feature in privacy-focused GrapheneOS and the Inactivity Reboot feature in iOS 18.1.

It took years for Google to launch its answer to Apple’s AirTag and its successful Find My network, but now that the Find My Device network is here, a lot of companies are jumping on board to make compatible Bluetooth trackers. Chipolo and Pebblebee were some of the first, but more companies have joined them since, including Motorola with its excellent Moto Tag.

Chipolo is back again with its next-gen tracker, the POP (). This time, it aims to beat both Pebblebee and the Moto Tag at their own game. Like Pebblebee’s latest universal trackers, the POP is compatible with both Apple and Google’s networks, and like the Moto Tag, it offers a standalone app with extra functionality. It doesn’t have an ultrawideband chip (UWB), but it does have Bluetooth 6.0, which opens up the door for more precise finding. I’ve been testing it for over a week, so let me tell you what I think about it.

Last year, Google introduced Expressive Captions as part of Android’s Live Caption system. Expressive Captions not only show what’s being said in the audio but also how it’s being said, capturing elements like tone, volume, environmental sounds, and human noises. The goal is to make sure that even if you can’t hear the audio, you can still feel its impact. Now, it looks like Google is expanding the range of Expressive Captions available on Android devices that support Live Caption.

When Google introduced Health Connect to the Android platform with Android 14, I thought it was a genius way to bridge the gap between multiple fitness and health platforms. I’ve had a Fitbit since the original Fitbit One in 2012, so most of my data lives on the platform, but Fitbit doesn’t track everything. My hikes are in AllTrails, my blood pressure is in Google Fit, and I wear an Oura Ring 4 that gives me more detailed sleep and wellness tracking than my current Pixel Watch 3 provides. Health Connect promised to bring all of that data together into Fitbit and all of my Fitbit data into those other apps so I can have a holistic view of my health.

And in reality, it does all of that. But little did I realize that it only does it momentarily, on one phone.

In a strategic move straight out of a spy thriller, Apple reportedly chartered not one, not two, but five cargo planes full of iPhones and other gear from India to the US in the span of just three days during the last week of March.

When you update your Android phone, what’s the first thing you do? Chances are, you head to Settings and check for updates in the software update section, right? And hey, that’s totally fine. That’s how you’re supposed to update your phone. The thing is: there’s more to it. Google Play system updates are just as important as your regular software updates, and they come with new features you might not even know about.

Over the years as I’ve tried different brands and switched between smartphone manufacturers, I’ve become a more scrutinizing consumer. For my first smartphone, I just bought what the sales representative suggested, because there weren’t that many brands available. This was around 2011 and while I was very happy with my HTC device, the market has developed significantly since.

Over time I learned that there are hidden drawbacks to many flagships that may not be evident at launch. While I still invest in a new flagship Android smartphone when I’m due for an upgrade, I’ve learned to wait a while before jumping on the bandwagon and buying the latest device.

If I had a penny for every single time I checked my Android phone for updates and got the all-clear “Your system is up to date” notice when there was actually a hidden update pending, well, I’d have a dollar or so. This issue is so frequent that it’s easily happened a hundred times or more on every Pixel, Galaxy, Nothing, HONOR, realme, or any other phone that has fallen in my hands in the last few years.

And no, I’m not talking about Android’s silly idea of not showing updates the first time unless I explicitly tap “Check for updates” — that’s a given at this point.

If we’ve compared Android to iOS once, we’ve compared them a hundred times. At this point, we may have actually compared them a hundred times. It’s not always the same comparison — we’ve looked at everything from niche AI tools to revamped customization features — and the same operating system doesn’t always come out on top. However, at this point, we’ve spent enough time bouncing back and forth to notice a few trends, and none has been more surprising than the slow, steady Android-ification of iOS. I’d go so far as to say that iOS is starting to feel like one of my favorite Android skins, and here’s why.

A little more customization goes a long way

We’ve known for months that Google was working on an Advanced Protection Mode for Android 16. This mode will block the sideloading of apps, enable memory tagging extensions, and disable 2G connections. Now, it looks like Google is adding a security feature we first saw on an Android ROM and Apple devices.

As hard as it is to believe, we’re just a few short months away from Android 16’s public release. We’ve had Developer Previews since last November and beta releases since January, and we’re expecting the final release to be ready in May or June.

So far, the update hasn’t given us much to look forward to. There are loads of developer-focused and under-the-hood tweaks, but in terms of exciting user-facing changes, Android 16 has been lacking. Outside of improvements to the photo picker, Live Updates notifications, and improving app support for tablets and foldables, it’s shaping up to be a pretty dull update.

When I moved an ocean away from home, I was fully prepared for a perpetually empty house. But as it turns out, living somewhere tropical means you get a lot more guests than you do in the frozen Midwest. I encourage all of my visitors to make the most of Hawaii’s beautiful weather while they’re here. The Yaber T2 Plus Projector makes my job even easier, providing the perfect way to enjoy an outdoor movie night.

Convenient, compact, and portable

Phones running stock Android are a dying breed. Sure, phones from Google, Motorola, and a few other brands have a stock-like aesthetic, but they add plenty of features you won’t find in a pure, unfettered version of Android.

Colleague Ryan Haines recently wrote that a light Android skin isn’t the same thing as stock Android. He added that you’d have to strip out loads of Pixel-only features if you wanted a Pixel running truly pure Android. We also used the article to ask readers whether they’d use a phone with stock Android, and here are the results.

Samsung’s Project Moohan XR headset is an exciting showcase of what Android can bring to the mixed-reality space. But let’s be honest, few people are likely to adopt a bulky headset. It’s simply not practical for extended, everyday use. That’s where smart glasses come in. Lightweight and wearable throughout the day, smart glasses offer a level of comfort and flexibility that larger headsets, like Apple’s Vision Pro or Samsung’s upcoming Project Moohan, just can’t match. Fortunately, Samsung seems to have recognized this and, unlike Apple, is reportedly already close to launching its own XR smart glasses.

Android has come a long way since its inception, and it’s delivered a ton of features I can’t do without. From the simple notification shade and permissions system to autofill and notification history, there are so many additions that are simply indispensable in my daily life.

Unfortunately, Google has also made some disappointing changes to Android over the years. This includes the Scoped Storage saga, which saw Google limiting storage access for apps, breaking many apps in the process, as well as a crackdown on calling and texting permissions. However, there’s one deprecated feature I really miss on recent Android phones, and that’s 32-bit app support.

When you think of a phone running stock Android, what comes to mind? If I had to guess, you probably think of a Google Pixel first and maybe a Motorola phone second, but you’d be wrong on both accounts. It’s not entirely your fault, though — Google makes Android, and Google makes Pixels, so it makes perfect sense to link the two together. However, if you picked up a Pixel running a truly stock version of Android, I don’t think you’d enjoy it all that much. Sure, it would work, but the truth is that stock Android just doesn’t really exist anymore.

A light Android skin isn’t the same as stock Android

Back in January, Epic brought its free games program to its mobile store on both Android and iOS. Since its implementation, players have been served new free games every month. The company planned to eventually move to a weekly schedule, but it never revealed when this change would occur. It looks like that day has arrived as the company is now making the switch.

In a blog post, the game publisher announced that the Epic Games Store on mobile will now offer free titles every week starting today. This new weekly cadence will start off with platformer Super Meat Boy Forever and Eastern Exorcist, a 2D sidescrolling action RPG. Just as before, these games will remain free for a limited time, ending on March 27.

If you’ve recently opened the Google Photos app and thought something looked different, you would be right. An update that simplifies the bottom bar is rolling out more widely on Android devices.

Previously, the bottom bar in Google Photos featured four tabs: Photos, Memories, Collections, and Search. Last year, Google released a redesign that changed this to three tabs, moving Memories into Collections. At the time, this was a server-side update for the app on iOS, but it started to roll out on Android in January. As spotted by 9to5Google, it appears the update is now arriving on a larger number of Android devices.

Last year, we discovered a Fitbit feature that would provide a personalized sleep summary meant to help users get better sleep. At the time, this feature was still in the early days of development. Now it looks like development has progressed far enough that Fitbit is finally ready to start letting some users test it out.

According to 9to5Google, users are starting to see “Personalized Sleep Schedule” in Fitbit Labs. The feature is said to survey “your energy levels multiple times daily to analyze your responses and provide an evening sleep schedule.” It will then suggest “bedtimes and wake times to help you get the optimal amount of sleep to meet your needs for the next day.” To get the best results, it recommends completing as many of the daily surveys as possible.

Not all flavors of Android are made equal, but which ones are actually the best, and which ones are at the bottom of the pile? Well, we decided to rank the major Android skins.

We took several factors into account when ranking these Android overlays, namely aesthetics, the level of polish, the number of features, and the OEM’s update policy. It’s also worth noting that this isn’t an authoritative ranking; it’s more for fun than anything else.

One of the biggest reasons Apple users remain loyal to the brand is its software experience. Over the years, Apple has maintained a consistent and reliable interface on all its devices — be it iOS on iPhones, iPadOS on tablets, watchOS on Apple Watches, or macOS on computers. Another key advantage Apple has is its seamless ecosystem functionality, something Android has long struggled with and is only now beginning to improve. Now, Apple appears to be getting ready to further challenge Android with a major software overhaul.

Widget stacking is available on One UI and several third-party launchers, but it’s not something you’ll find on stock Android. Although Google has yet to add the feature to its OS, the Android team didn’t rule out the possibility of it happening someday during its Q&A yesterday.

On YouTube, the Android team held a live Q&A, during which the panel answered a variety of questions from viewers. From this Q&A, we learned some interesting details, like where Google stands on stackable widgets and whether widgets could come to Android XR.

Late last year, we reported that Google is preparing a native Linux terminal application that would allow smartphone users to carry a portable version of a desktop distro with them. Since then, we’ve seen that very app roll out with Android 15 beta builds. Now, with the March 2025 Pixel update, a stable version of that app is available more widely for Google phone users running the latest stable version of Android.

The Linux Terminal app icon automatically appears once you toggle on the Linux development environment in Settings > System > Developer options. Once I activated it and tapped this icon, I was asked to allow a 567MB download.

Creating an email signature is a great way to save yourself some time. It’s a convenience that makes it so you don’t have to manually add your name and contact information on every message. What’s not so convenient, however, is having to create signatures in both the web and mobile versions of Gmail. It looks like Google noticed this issue and has fixed it with a new feature.

In an earlier APK teardown of the Gmail app, Android Authority contributor AssembleDebug found a string of code saying “If you don’t set a mobile signature, Gmail will use your web signature instead.” It appears this feature is now starting to roll out and has been spotted by Artem Russakovskii of Android Police.

It’s March and that means it’s time for Google’s latest Pixel Drop. Among the plethora of features arriving on Android devices, Google has rolled out a few tools designed to keep you safe, connected, and help with shopping.

After briefly mentioning it in a blog post last week and then suddenly removing that text from the blog, Scam Detection for messages is here. The feature entered beta back in October last year, but now it’s ready for the main stage. If you’re unfamiliar with Scam Detection, it uses AI to identify patterns commonly associated with scams to warn you in real time if it suspects a scam is happening. You can then either choose to ignore the warning or block and report the conversation.

When Samsung first announced that its Galaxy S25 flagships would use seamless Android updates, most of the team here at Android Authority rejoiced. After all, seamless updates meant that the Galaxy S25 series should be able to jump from one version to the next faster and revert to previous software versions more easily if there was an issue with a new patch. Now, the only real question remaining was how quickly the seamless updates would apply and whether or not they’d be as seamless as Samsung suggested. Well, now we have our answer.

Wait, what’s different about seamless updates?

I’m always in two minds about tapping a link on my Android phone. It could lead me to an innocuous duck meme that makes my day. Alternatively, it could also usher me somewhere I don’t quite want to go. This is less likely on platforms where I can actively preview the link in full, but for many other apps, there’s no telling where that blue hyperlinked text will lead you.

I use the open source URLCheck, one of my favorite Android apps, to address this potential security lapse. After discovering it several months ago, it quickly became one of the first and most important apps I install on new and old Android devices.

Google is making a small but useful change to its phone dialer app, aiming to make call history management less of a headache. The app’s Recents tab has always listed all incoming, outgoing, and missed calls in one continuous stream, which can be convenient, but with robocalls and spam frequently clogging up call logs, sorting through the list can feel like a chore. Now, Google is introducing new filters that should make it easier to organize and find past calls.

The Android Authority team first spotted these filters last month in a beta version of the app, though they weren’t accessible to users at the time. Now, the feature is officially rolling out.

I spent several hours rummaging through the Google app for a recent opinion piece detailing its excellent Saved feature. However, I don’t use this app often, if ever. This got me thinking: why is the Google app still around, and why does Google insist on keeping it when a search widget from Chrome could essentially replace everything I use it for?

While I’m sure many users (including myself, initially) feel that it’s a vestigial piece of software from Android versions of old, it plays a far more critical role on your phone than its meek public-facing presence suggests. As infrequently as I — or you — actually tap that Google app icon, we all still use its hidden features many times a day.

In a sudden and somewhat expected move, the aPS3e emulator, which had briefly stirred up excitement among Android gamers hoping to emulate PS3 titles on their devices, has disappeared from GitHub.

Developed by a developer known as Aenu, the project may have been taken down after growing concerns over copyright issues, particularly regarding its use of code from the open-source RPCS3 PC emulator. GitHub pages for both the aPS3e emulator and its creator’s account now return a 404 error.

Google already offers Play Protect on Android phones, which automatically scans apps for malware. Now, it looks like Google is adding another layer of defense when sideloading apps.

MSPowerUser reports that Chrome for Android will soon be able to scan APK files for malware. Google is testing the feature as a flag in Chrome Canary for Android, and we were able to see it too. Check out the screenshot below.

Old habits die hard, and this is especially true for me. I tweak a few items on every Android smartphone I’ve ever owned, including quickening the default animation duration and speed and permanently activating dark mode. But one little setting I’ve changed religiously for years now is the screen’s minimum width adjustment.

Wait, what is the minimum width adjustment?

When Android 15 landed with Private Space in tow, everyone — me included — winked at their screen and nodded, knowing exactly what that new feature would be used for. I won’t delve into your or my private business; that’s not exactly my jam. But when I activated Private Space on my Pixel 9 Pro (it’s a Pixel exclusive for now), I realized that it’s a very powerful and unique addition to my Android phone that enables me to do things I couldn’t before.

With time, I’ve come across five different use cases for Private Space that make it essential for me because of security, privacy, distraction management, or convenience. If you’re not familiar with the feature, check out how to activate and use Private Space, and then follow me as I explain how I personally use it.

Back in the day, any time a friend told me they thought their voice assistant might be secretly listening in on their private conversations, I was one of the people telling them it was all in their head. I’m certainly cynical enough about Big Tech’s privacy motives in many respects, but I just assumed the corporations knew everything about us already.

I should have been more skeptical. In 2019, Apple faced a backlash when we found out that Siri recordings were being reviewed by third-party contractors, sometimes capturing private moments without users realizing it. In a creepier twist, a lawsuit later alleged that Siri had been recording even without activation and that Apple had improperly used the data. Apple denied wrongdoing but settled the case in 2024 for $95 million.

A small but significant number of people feel that most phones are too big, and they would prefer smaller versions without sacrificing specs. Eric Migicovsky, the founder of Pebble, is one of them. He initiated the Small Android Phone project in 2022, aiming to develop a compact, premium Android device reminiscent of the iPhone 13 Mini. While the project is still alive, the latest indicators are that it could be some time before we see his vision of a small Android phone.

Speaking to The Verge, Migicovsky stated that he was only tangentially working on small phones and that they were no longer a top priority. When pressed further on whether someone upgrading now should consider holding out for Migicovsky’s device in the next 18 months instead, he suggested that they shouldn’t.

Google Docs on Android has many of the same features as the web version, but not all of them. For example, only the web version of Google Docs allows you to create Document tabs. However, a future update could bring the two a little closer to parity.

For most people, Circle to Search’s (CtS) UI is just fine the way it is. However, that’s not stopping Google from trying to find ways to improve the feature’s looks. For example, last month, we found Google toying around with the entry and exit animations on CtS. It seems the company is at it once again trying out a new animation.

Way back in the day, I used to be one of those people who was constantly installing new custom ROMs. I loved trying out all the different varieties of Android created by passionate teams and fans (or sometimes even a single person) and discovering how they could improve the platform. It got to the point where I was choosing which of the best Android phones to buy based solely on whether or not it could be easily rooted and bootloader unlocked.

At some point, though, I started to back away from it all. Longer update commitments from OEMs, an increase in the number of unique features that a small development team couldn’t easily replicate, and a higher level of difficulty rooting/unlocking hardware pushed me away from the custom ROM community. At this point, I don’t even think about custom ROMs when looking at Android phones and tablets.

Last year, AT&T and TransUnion launched a service called Branded Call Display that allows businesses to make branded calls. If you got a call from a business that opted into the program, you’d see its brand name and logo on your phone’s screen. This way it’s easier to tell if it’s a robocaller or a real business on the line. Now that feature is being expanded to tell you why a business is calling.

Today, AT&T and TransUnion announced that AT&T wireless customers will start to see the reason why a business is calling them. You won’t need to download an app or do anything as this is part of the STIR/SHAKEN call authentication protocol, which helps carriers identify spam calls.

As an Android smartphone owner and Android Auto user, I rely on Google Maps for my daily commute. I hate driving in traffic, and as my luck would have it, my hometown is among the most congested on the continent. To keep my blood pressure low, I resort to backroads and alternative routes to skirt around any potential pain points. However, Google Maps’ missing custom route support has made this far more complicated than it should be.

Why Google Maps needs support for custom routes

Google has begun distributing its February 2025 software update for Pixel smartphones, targeting a range of models from the Pixel 6 series all the way to the latest Pixel 9 lineup. The update, now rolling out globally in phases, focuses on resolving specific audio and Bluetooth quirks reported by users, alongside routine security enhancements.

Owners of Pixel 6 through Pixel 9 devices — including the Pixel Fold, Tablet, and carrier-specific variants — can expect fixes for Android Auto audio glitches that occasionally disrupted output under certain conditions. Meanwhile, the Pixel 9 series (Pro, Pro XL, Pro Fold) is also getting a dedicated patch addressing Bluetooth connectivity hiccups that sometimes prevented pairing with accessories like earbuds or smartwatches.

Quick Share is a handy tool for transferring files between two nearby Android phones. Now, Google is making the feature more convenient with an update to Google Play Services.

Google recently announced a second February 2025 Google Play Services update (version 25.04), and one new addition is the ability to continue Quick Share transfers over mobile data or Wi-Fi if a direct connection is lost.

When you try to sign into your Google Account, you may be greeted by a Google prompt. This is a notification used to confirm your identity when you try to sign in or perform some other sensitive task. It will usually just ask you to confirm you are who you say you are, but it looks like the process just got an extra step.

Spotted by 9to5Google, version 25.02.34 of Google Play Services on Android has Google prompts requesting additional verification. Just hitting the “Yes, it’s me” button in the “Are you trying to sign in” prompt is no longer enough.

It has been ten months since London-based phone maker Nothing launched the Phone 2a. This means we’re almost due for a follow-up to the affordable Android phone. The company has now confirmed that its next product launch will be the Nothing Phone 3a.

Today, Nothing published its first Quarterly Update video for 2025. In that video, Co-founder Akis Evangelidis revealed that the firm’s next product launch will be for the Phone 3a. Unfortunately, that’s all they shared, so we didn’t get any information on the specs or peeks at the handset’s design.

Google is offering US employees in its Platforms & Devices division — which includes teams behind Pixel, Android, Nest, Fitbit, and Chrome — a chance to leave the company voluntarily with a severance package. The move, first reported by 9to5Google, follows the tech giant’s decision last year to merge its Pixel hardware and Android software teams into a single unit, a shift now prompting further organizational adjustments.

In an internal memo shared Thursday, Senior Vice President Rick Osterloh announced the “voluntary exit program,” framing it as an opportunity for workers who feel disconnected from the merged team’s goals or who are struggling with hybrid work policies.

Microsoft is upgrading its Phone Link feature to make pairing and sharing from Windows to Android phones easier. The changes are currently available to those running the newest Insider build and should expand to all users down the road.

Late last year, Google unveiled its first brand-new operating system in 10 years: Android XR. Designed for mixed-reality headsets and glasses, Android XR will be available in new products sometime this year, headlined by the secretive “Project Moohan” headset, created in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm.

We know for sure that Android XR will support the Google Play Store and thus the millions of apps and games you find there. The problem Google faces, though, is how to scale Android apps and games from two-dimensional mobile screens to the immersive three-dimensional world of Android XR.

If you’ve been waiting for the Epic Games Store on mobile to get more third-party games, you don’t have to wait anymore. The company is adding nearly 20 third-party games and is launching a free games program to boot. On top of that, it’s also offering to pay some iOS fees to lure more devs to its free games program.

Epic has announced that it is bringing its first wave of third-party games to its mobile store on Android and iOS. A total of 17 third-party games will be on the Android storefront, while 15 games are being added to the one on iOS — which is only available in the EU.

As you may know, Theft Protection is a suite of security features that was introduced with Android 15. It was created to protect your private data in the case your phone is stolen. It currently offers features like Remote Lock, which allows you to remotely lock your phone with your phone number. There’s also Theft Detection Lock, which uses AI to detect if your phone has been forcibly stolen and locks it down. Now Google is expanding Theft Protection with the rollout of a new feature — Identity Check.

Google has announced that it is finally launching Identity Check on Pixel phones. As a quick refresher, Identity Check is a feature that makes it mandatory to pass a biometric check, in addition to PIN or password verification, to access your accounts. This feature activates when the device leaves a trusted location (one or more areas can be designated as a trusted location). Meaning that if someone managed to steal your PIN or password, they would still be locked out as long as they don’t have your fingerprint.

Android already has a feature that notifies you when your Fast Pair-enabled earbuds and charging case are running low on battery. Google is now working on a similar feature that will let you know when your earbuds are fully charged.

Although I love the abundance of unique widgets Android affords me, that affection is getting out of hand. I admit, I probably don’t need the dozens of widgets on my device, even though I’ve grown to like my peculiar setup.

To fuel this passion, I use Kvaesitso as my preferred launcher as it offers vertically scrolling (daisy chained) widgets on its homepage. This layout gives me the freedom to add as many widgets as possible, which makes for a rather lengthy list. However, as much as it pains me, I should simplify my widget layout to boost productivity. So, I searched for a solution to my widget hoarding problem and I found one: stacks.

Seamless updates have been around since the original Pixel debuted in 2016, and since then, plenty of other Android OEMs have added them to their devices. Samsung has been the exception, with the Galaxy A55 being the only device the company has made that featured them. I liked that part of the Galaxy experience because I’m an impatient person. But it looks like Samsung will finally cave in and add seamless updates to the Galaxy S25, and I’m not looking forward to it. Before you get out the pitchforks, allow me to explain.

What are seamless updates? What did Samsung do before?

Google has officially started rolling out an Insert button on the Gemini panel in the Gmail app on Android. We previously spotted the button and covered it in an Authority Insights APK teardown. It is now coming to all Gmail for Android users via the latest version of the app. The Insert button acts as a shortcut for adding AI-generated replies to your email drafts, making the process faster than ever.

Google released its big Material You redesign on Android 12, and it expanded even further with Android 13. Thanks to Material You’s Dynamic Color, users could personalize their devices to align with the color scheme of their wallpaper. For whatever reason, Google Home has long avoided Dynamic Color, but that’s coming to an end.

Last week, Google began testing a “Dynamic color scheme” for Google Home on Android phones and tablets. As the company explained, the app “will now reflect the color scheme that you choose for your Android phone or tablet for a more consistent and personalized experience.” The rollout was made available to those who are in the Public Preview program, but not everyone was seeing the change at the time. Now it appears the update has rolled out widely via the Play Store with version 3.28.1.6.

Apple added widgets to iOS in 2020 with iOS 14, and it’s impressive how quickly they have been embraced by users and developers alike. Almost every app on my iPhone has a useful, high-quality widget that I enjoy using, which isn’t something I can say about my Android phone these days.

But perhaps that shouldn’t surprise us when Google, the mastermind and commander of all things Android, seems to put more effort into its app widgets on the iPhone than it does for its own operating system. I would call that a problem, wouldn’t you?

Quick Share is already a very handy way to send files from one device to another nearby device. But it looks like Google found a way to make it even more convenient by rolling out QR codes.

When you open Quick Share, you can choose who you want to share with. You have the option to share with only your devices that are signed into your Google account or to share with your contacts. You can also choose to share with anyone nearby, but that option makes your device discoverable to everyone. However, you can set it so that your device only remains discoverable for 10 minutes after using the feature.

A handy feature on many of the best Android phones is a double-tap power button gesture for quickly launching the camera, perfect for capturing fleeting moments. Some manufacturers let you customize this gesture, but this isn’t currently possible on Google Pixel phones. However, this may change in the future, as Google is developing an option to launch the default wallet app instead of the camera with the double-tap gesture.

The best Android tablets are great not only for watching videos but also for getting work done. If your work involves a lot of writing, though, you’ll want to pick up a decent keyboard cover to make typing easier. Although Android has solid support for physical keyboards and touchpads, there are still some areas where it’s lacking, especially in the customization department. Thankfully, Google continues to work on new keyboard and touchpad features for Android, with the latest feature being a menu for customizing three-finger touchpad taps.

Android has come a long way in the last 16 years. The T-Mobile G1 — or HTC Dream where I’m from — bears little resemblance to the excellent smartphones we use today, with its chunky bezels full of navigation buttons and slide-out keyboard. Physical keyboards wouldn’t last long on Android, though; the original iPhone proved that going all-in on the touchscreen was the way to go. However, despite the time that has passed since then and all the ways in which Android and iOS have grown more alike, Apple’s operating system still uses multi-touch gestures in ways Android doesn’t, and Google really needs to catch up.

Some of the multi-touch features I’ll discuss here can be found in some Android skins. One UI, for example, lets you use a second finger to swap between home screens when moving app icons. None of them match iOS, though, and only implement a half-baked version of one feature or another. I want Google to standardize this in Android so we can all benefit from it.

Android Auto users are about to get a noticeable shake-up in their in-car listening experience. Google has begun rolling out a refreshed media player as part of Android Auto version 13.4, marking one of the bigger interface changes for the platform since its major revamp last year. First spotted by 9to5Google, many Android Auto users are starting to see this new design right now.

One of the first things you’ll spot in the updated player is the smaller album art, which has been moved to the left side. In the previous design, the media progress bar was underneath the cover art. Now, it’s parked on the right side of the album art.

Did you unwrap a new phone? It can certainly be exciting, but switching phones can be stressful, too. You have to back everything up and remember all of your account logins. If you’re having a hard time, we’re here to help. Our Android Authority reviewers have become pros at switching between devices every few weeks without much of a headache. Here’s how we do it.

Editor’s note: We developed the instructions in this guide using a Google Pixel 8a running Android 15. Remember that some menus and settings might differ depending on your device and software version.

Opinion post by

Dhruv Bhutani

I love my Airtags — they’ve saved me from countless lost-and-found headaches and are a constant companion for everything from my house keys to my car keys, backpack, and even my vape. The precise location tracking, loud ringers, and seamless integration with the iPhone’s Find My network have made them indispensable for keeping track of all my essentials. They’re one of those little tech upgrades that make you wonder how you ever managed without them.

But like most things in tech, smart tags are a double-edged sword. While they’ve added convenience to my life, lately, my Airtags have also become a source of constant irritation. Android’s unknown tag alert system — introduced to help prevent unwanted tracking — has ensured that there’s rarely a day when I’m not bombarded by notifications about “unknown” trackers.

The US Department of Justice recently called for Google to sell Chrome and make significant changes to Android (or sell it as an alternative) to tackle Google’s monopoly in online search. Google obviously isn’t happy with such a proposal, as these sweeping changes would fundamentally alter the tech landscape, for better or for worse. Google is now proposing remedies that are still comprehensive and address the issues but aren’t as allegedly overreaching as the DOJ’s proposals.

Google intends to appeal the Court’s decision on Search’s monopoly, but the legal process requires the company to file proposed remedies that best respond to the decision. Google is doing so, and it is broadly outlining the remedies for people to understand.

One of the long-standing reasons that fans stick with Android over iOS is because of the customization the platform allows. Especially with Google really leaning into this concept with its Material You design effort, Android can look, feel, and operate in pretty much any way a user wants. Although Apple has finally started to give iOS users a semblance of control with the ability to move around icons and change their colors (such courage), there’s simply no denying that Android is the far more flexible operating system.

Ever since I bought my very first Android phone — a Samsung Galaxy S2, because I am a Very Old Man — I’ve toyed around with customization. It’s easy enough to install icon packs, change system colors, and install live wallpapers, and I had fun with that for a long time. However, it wasn’t until I discovered KWGT that things got really intricate.

I’m always asked which phone someone should buy. It’s not always phrased exactly that way — sometimes, the question is which phone is my favorite, but the end goal is always the same. And, in those cases, it’s easy to want to recommend the latest and greatest from Google, Apple, or OnePlus. However, most people don’t need a brand-new, top-end device with all the bells and whistles.

So, when I’m asked, I’ve started looking deeper into the best phones from recent years. I’ve found that there’s one older flagship I recommend more than any other, and it’s the one I’d be most willing to buy for myself: Google’s Pixel 8 Pro. Here’s why.