By Joe Maring
About a month ago, Google surprised us by releasing the first Android 16 developer preview barely a month after the stable Android 15 update came out. It began a much faster development timeline than we’re used to, and it’s continuing today with Android 16’s second developer preview.
Compared to the first developer preview, Android 16 makes some small (but important) changes. Google calls out improved battery life and increased performance as two main improvements. It always takes a while for developer previews and betas to reach the acceptable battery life and performance of a final/stable update, so it’s nice to see progress made here with the second developer preview.
Also new is an update to Android’s native photo picker. Android 16’s second developer preview introduces a search function, allowing you to search for specific photos saved in the cloud, not just ones on-device. Google says this search functionality is “coming soon.”
Google is also adding a new haptics application programming interface (API) that will allow apps to “define the amplitude and frequency curves of a haptic effect while abstracting away differences between device capabilities.” In short, developers will have more granular control over device haptics and should be able to create better experiences with them.
There are a bunch of smaller changes, too. This latest developer preview expands Android’s adaptive refresh rate (ARR) that was introduced in Android 15. Android 16 makes it easier for apps to use ARR, which reduces display power consumption when enabled. There’s also a new Activity Intensity metric added to Health Connect, which is based on guidelines for moderate and vigorous activity from the World Health Organization.
Similar to the first developer preview, Android 16’s second developer preview doesn’t have much in the way of significant user-facing changes. Instead, it’s focused on behind-the-scenes updates to help developers get their software ready for the public rollout later next year.
Per its release timeline, Google will launch the first beta release of Android 16 in January, with additional ones coming in February, March, and April. Google expects to reach platform stability with the March beta, with Android 16’s public rollout likely coming in May or June.
You can download the Android 16 beta on your phone if you’re interested, though we’d recommend waiting until the public beta to ensure the nastiest bugs and glitches are fixed before making the plunge. However, if you’re a developer or have a secondary device to tinker with, you can grab the Android 16 developer beta 2 as of today.
Joe Maring has been the Section Editor of Digital Trends’ Mobile team since June 2022. He leads a team of 13 writers and…
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