Introducing Quick Settings in Android 16

The third beta of Android 16 has finally been released. In this article from Orcacore, we’re going to give you some information about Quick Settings in Android 16. This update is very close to the stable version of the platform, which is due in June. This means that we probably won’t see any major changes until the stable version is released, which may be a bit disappointing for users who were expecting a major redesign. However, Google is planning to update the Android user interface, and in the latest beta, it has made several improvements to the new design of the notification panel and quick settings.

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Introduction to Android 16 Beta 3

Google has been working on a complete redesign of the Notifications panel and Quick Settings in Android 16 since September 2024. The company aims to separate the two panels into separate pages to provide more space for notifications and quick settings icons. In addition, Google has added the ability to resize the quick settings icons so that users can see more of them at once.

Quick Settings in Android 16

A few weeks ago, it became clear that the new design of the Notification Panel and Quick Settings in Android 16 would probably not be ready in the initial version of Android 16. Some parts are still incomplete, and for example, Google is still optimizing compatibility with Light Mode, but there are still issues with text contrast.

Also, the way some quick settings icons are expanded is not yet fully implemented. Another big shortcoming was the absence of a media player in the panels, and users did not have an easy way to switch between panels.

Google has fixed a lot of issues in the third beta of Android 16. The media player is now prominently displayed above the notification panel and quick settings. In addition, two new ways to switch between panels have been added:

1) You can easily switch between the notification panel and quick settings by tapping the chips at the top left and right.

2) Swiping down from the left opens the notification panel, and swiping from the right reveals the quick settings section.

It is assumed that Google will not make any further changes to the design of the panels in Android 16; but given that the design of the new panels is still under development, we will probably see improvements and new features.

For example, in the third beta of Android 16, Google has made the quick settings panel a vertical scroller so that you can see more icons by swiping down the screen. Also, plus (+) and minus (−) buttons have been added to the icon editing menu to make it easier to add or remove icons from the panel.

Although the new design of the quick settings panel is unlikely to be introduced in the initial version of Android 16, it is possible that these changes will be released in the seasonal updates of the operating system later this year.