Android 16 QPR1 made my Pixel 9 Professional really feel similar to a Pixel 10 Professional

Imagine it or not, I’m not normally one to load up beta software program. It’s cool to attempt new Android options earlier than they’re totally baked, however I run into extra hiccups than I’d normally like alongside the way in which. Nonetheless, when Google introduced that the Android 16 QPR1 beta was prepared for older Pixels, I let my curiosity get the higher of me. I questioned what options I’d get and which wouldn’t be prepared but.

So, I did what solely a tech reviewer can: I loaded Android 16 on my Pixel 9 Professional XL to see if it may match my Pixel 10 Professional XL. Right here’s what I discovered alongside the way in which.

Maybe the absolute best factor that the Android 16 QPR1 launch does is to — in the end — introduce Google’s Materials 3 Expressive design language. We’ve been listening to about it for a number of months now, and I’ve already had a style of it on the Pixel 10 Professional, however I can now verify that it’s simply as candy on the Pixel 9 Professional. It’s filled with small and huge tweaks that make all the pieces from navigation to customization slightly bit simpler.

Surprisingly, the very first thing I seen concerning the Android 16 QPR1 overhaul is its strategy to menus. The Settings app is a bit much less monochrome, bringing slightly colour to totally different classes to lump associated topics like Show & contact and Wallpaper & model collectively, together with Notifications, Sound & vibration, and Modes. I’m used to spending quite a lot of time — perhaps an excessive amount of — within the Settings app, so I’m all for Google making life slightly bit simpler.

Inside that revamped Settings app, the revamped Wallpaper & model menu is the very best a part of Android 16 QPR1. It provides intelligent new choices like Reside results, which I didn’t initially assume I would love. I’m nonetheless slightly confused by how difficult it may be to reposition the topic of your Reside impact inside its geometric bubble, however I like which you could swap to a real-time have a look at your native climate circumstances with totally different results for fog, snow, and rain.

One different good factor that Google has finished with the Android 16 QPR1 replace is to shrink, nicely, all the pieces. I’ve had my battles with the At a Look widget previously, principally as a result of I assumed it took up just a bit an excessive amount of area, however now it’s higher. And by that, I imply it’s smaller. A lot smaller, actually, which you could match an additional row of apps or widgets on your own home display screen with out tweaking your default grid.

Oh, and I’ll not have been certain about Google’s choice to repeat a bunch of different Android options on the Pixel 10 sequence, however I’ve actually come round to the My Pixel app. It’s primarily the subsequent step within the Pixel Ideas evolution, and it now has a tab for system assist and the Google retailer, together with the guidelines I’ve come to rely so closely on.

Now, if solely Google may hurry up with the rollout of Reside Updates so I can hold a better eye on all the pieces from Uber rides to Maps instructions — then once more, this isn’t a criticism unique to the Pixel 9 Professional.

So, though the Android 16 QPR1 beta does quite a bit to make my Pixel 9 Professional really feel more energizing, it doesn’t magically add all of Google’s new options to its older flagships. Sure, you possibly can undoubtedly make your telephone look the half, however you’ll need to perform a little further work if you’d like issues just like the Pixel Journal to name your app drawer house.

Whereas I’m nonetheless slightly break up on my want for Google’s new on-device journal, I’m way more enthusiastic about attempting its Digicam Coach and Magic Cue on older units. To me, these are in all probability the highest two options — sorry, Each day Hub, however you possibly can keep on timeout within the nook — that I’d like to experiment with. I wish to dive into Digicam Coach ideas whereas understanding that I don’t have 100x Professional Res Zoom at my disposal, and I’d be particularly curious to see the way it fares on a dual-camera system just like the Pixel 9 or Pixel 9a.

Sadly, I’m rather less optimistic that I’ll see Magic Cue make its solution to my assortment of older Pixels anytime quickly. Google is fairly clear that the Pixel 10-exclusive characteristic depends on a mixture of its newest Gemini Nano mannequin and the Tensor G5 chipset, the latter of which undoubtedly received’t be coming to my year-old Pixel 9 Professional. It’s an omission that’s sufficient to go away a bitter style in my mouth, primarily as a result of it looks like Magic Cue might be a reasonably important a part of Pixel UI sooner or later.

After all, unique options are the secret — they’re the true causes to improve when the remainder of the Pixel 10 Professional seems and feels quite a bit like its predecessor. And, in the event you want the most recent and biggest, they is likely to be price it, however within the meantime, Android 16 QPR1 goes a great distance in making my Pixel 9 Professional XL really feel contemporary once more.