![\"Android](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Android-16-QPR2-hero-image-3-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"Android")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Mishaal Rahman \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
Google released the first beta of Android 16\u2019s<\/a> second quarterly platform release today. We installed Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1<\/a> to find out what\u2019s new, so read on if you\u2019re trying to decide whether it\u2019s worth installing on your own device or you simply want to know what\u2019s coming in the future!<\/p>\n Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/strong><\/p>\n For this release, Google<\/a> has blessedly offered a list of changes, giving us some ideas of where to start looking for these hot new features. Here\u2019s what the company says to expect in QPR2 Beta 1:<\/p>\n We\u2019re starting to dig in even deeper ourselves, and will be regularly updating this post with our discoveries.<\/p>\n Forced themed icons<\/p>\n Google introduced a Themed Icon feature in Android 13 that allows the system to tint app icons using your wallpaper\u2019s dominant color. The only problem is that developers needed to support this feature by providing monochromatic version of their apps\u2019 icons. Many developers did not do this, resulting in messy home screens with inconsistent app icons.<\/p>\n Fortunately, Google says that Android 16 QPR2 can \u201cautomatically generate a themed icon for your app if you don\u2019t provide a dedicated one.\u201d The OS will apply a \u201ccolor filtering algorithm to your existing launcher icon to render it in a monochrome style, allowing it to integrate with the user\u2019s chosen theme.\u201d Indeed, after installing QPR2 Beta 1 on my Pixel, we noticed that all app icons were now themed regardless of whether a monochromatic icon was supplied.<\/p>\n Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1 also brings lock screen widget support to phones, after debuting on tablets last year with Android 15 QPR1. For more details on this new feature, as well as a hands-on demo showing it off, check out our dedicated piece.<\/a><\/p>\n Mishaal Rahman \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Identity Check expanded to more apps<\/p>\n Google is bringing a major upgrade to Android\u2019s Identity Check feature in Android 16 QPR2. The anti-theft feature will now protect more of your apps. When Identity Check is turned on in Android 16 QPR2, apps will no longer be allowed to accept your screen lock credentials (PIN, pattern, or password) when invoking biometric prompt. For more details, check out this article that goes in-depth on Android\u2019s Identity Check expansion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mishaal Rahman \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Expanded dark theme<\/p>\n Google mentioned in its blog post that Android 16 QPR2 adds a new \u201cexpanded option under dark theme\u201d that allows the system to \u201cintelligently invert the UI of apps that appear light despite users having selected the dark theme.\u201d We\u2019ve been tracking this feature for a while and actually saw it go live already<\/a> in the July 2025 Android Canary release, but Google is making it official today and announcing its release in Android 16 QPR2.<\/p>\n Mishaal Rahman \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n The expanded dark theme is aimed at creating a \u201cmore consistent user experience for users who have low vision, photosensitivity, or simply those who prefer a dark system-wide appearance.\u201d When enabled, the system uses apps\u2019 isLightTheme attribute to determine whether to apply inversion. \u201cIf your app inherits from one of the standard DayNight themes, this is done automatically for you, otherwise make sure to declare isLightTheme=\u201dfalse\u201d in your dark theme to ensure your app is not inadvertently inverted.\u201d<\/p>\n Google says that sStandard Android Views, Composables, and WebViews will be inverted, while custom rendering engines like Flutter will not.\u201d Furthermore, the system will also automatically darken your app\u2019s splash screen and adjust the status bar color for contrast. This is intended only as an accessibility feature, hence Google recommends developers implement a native dark theme if they haven\u2019t already.<\/p>\n SDR\/HDR brightness slider<\/p>\n Under Settings > Display & touch in Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1, there\u2019s a new \u201cenhanced HDR brightness\u201d page, which actually went live in the first Android Canary release last month<\/a>. On this page, you can control the (perceived) brightness of HDR content or stop the screen from becoming brighter entirely when HDR content is present. If you hate HDR flashbangs at night while scrolling Instagram or other social media, this feature is for you.<\/p>\n In Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1, the Linux Terminal app has added a \u201cDisplay\u201d activity that pipes display output from the underlying Linux VM to the Android host.\u00a0This enables you to run full desktop Linux apps on your Android device<\/a>. As we demonstrated earlier, you can run graphical Linux apps like GIMP, LibreOffice, Chromium, and more thanks to this new capability. You can even install a full desktop environment like XFCE and run apps that way. Check out our hands-on piece for a full tutorial<\/a> on how to set this up.<\/p>\n Mishaal Rahman \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Secure Lock Device<\/p>\n Android 16 QPR2 introduces a new \u201csystem-level security state\u201d called \u201cSecure Lock Device.\u201d When Secure Lock Device is enabled (which can happen remotely via Find Hub<\/a>), Google says that \u201cthe device locks immediately and requires the primary PIN, pattern, or password to unlock, heightening security.\u201d Furthermore, \u201cnotifications and quick affordances on the lock screen will be hidden, and biometric unlock may be temporarily disabled.\u201d<\/p>\n Phone Theft Protection toggle<\/p>\n As we previously reported<\/a>, Google will soon add a toggle in Android 16 QPR2 that lets you disable Failed Authentication Lock<\/a>. The company says that \u201ca user-facing toggle is being added to Theft Protection Settings, allowing users to enable or disable the \u2018Failed Authentication Lock\u2019 security feature (introduced in Android 15) that automatically locks down your device after multiple failed login attempts.\u201d<\/p>\n This toggle is not yet live in Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1.<\/p>\n 90:10 split screen ratio<\/p>\n Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1 brings the long-awaited 90:10 split screen ratio<\/a>, which is heavily inspired by (but not directly based on) OPPO\u2019s Boundless View<\/a> (also known as Open Canvas on OnePlus devices). Again, this is another one of those features that first went live in the Android Canary release, so we\u2019re not too surprised to see it here. Still, it\u2019s good to know that this feature is planned for launch in QPR2.<\/p>\n Mishaal Rahman \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n This article will be updated as we find new features. Check back later for more information!<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
![\"a16](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/a16-qpr2-b1-auto-icon-2.jpg\"\/ "\\"a16"){kind=icon}
![\"a16](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/a16-qpr2-b1-auto-icon-1.jpg\"\/ "\\"a16"){kind=icon}
Lock screen widget support for phones<\/p>\n![\"Widgets](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Widgets-on-lock-screen-settings-in-Android.jpg\"\/ "\\"Widgets")
<\/p>\n![\"Identity](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Identity-Check-for-more-apps-in-Android-16-QPR2.jpg\"\/ "\\"Identity")
<\/p>\n![\"July](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/July_2025_Android_Canary_expanded_dark_mode-scaled.png\"\/ "\\"July")
<\/p>\n![\"android](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/android-16-dark-theme-expanded-option.png\"\/ "\\"android")
<\/p>\n![\"canary](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/canary-hdr-controls-1-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"canary")
![\"canary](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/canary-hdr-controls-2-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"canary")
Graphical apps support in the Linux Terminal<\/p>\n![\"XFCE](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/XFCE-desktop-on-a-Pixel-device-via-Linux-Terminal-scaled.png\"\/ "\\"XFCE")
<\/p>\n![\"Android](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Android-Split-Screen-ratios-in-July-Canary-build.jpg\"\/ "\\"Android")
<\/p>\n