Android 16 Beta 1: adaptive apps, Live Updates

Beta 1 came out on 23 January 2025. It was the first Android 16 build for early adopters: Pixel owners could enroll in Android Beta and get it over the air, and phones on DP2 were updated automatically.

What Beta 1 added

• Adaptive apps. On displays wider than 600dp, apps targeting API 36 have their orientation and resizability restrictions ignored. Games are exempt, and apps could opt out in 2025; Google said the 2026 release would remove the opt-out. The UNIVERSAL_RESIZABLE_BY_DEFAULT compat flag let developers test it without targeting 36.
• Live Updates. Notification.ProgressStyle arrived, with segments, points and custom icons. Google suggested it only for ride-sharing, food delivery and navigation.
• Camera and media. The APV codec for professional video, and EXTENSION_NIGHT_MODE_INDICATOR, which tells an app when to switch to a night mode camera session.
• Vertical text. Paint.VERTICAL_TEXT_FLAG for libraries that render vertical scripts.
• Accessibility. setSupplementalDescription() for view groups and setFieldRequired() for required form fields.
• Ranging. RangingManager measures distance and angle with Bluetooth channel sounding, Bluetooth RSSI, Ultra-Wideband or Wi-Fi round trip time.

What Beta 1 changed

• ART internals. Code that reaches into ART’s internal structures may break on Android 16, and on earlier versions that get ART updates through Google Play system updates.
• Predictive back. For apps targeting 36, onBackPressed() is no longer called; apps must migrate or opt out. With 3-button navigation, a long press on back now shows the predictive animation for migrated apps.
• Fixed-rate scheduling. For apps targeting 36, scheduleAtFixedRate runs at most one missed execution when the app returns.
• Ordered broadcasts. android:priority only orders receivers within one process.