The following table lists all documented features and behavior changes that might affect app developers. Use this list to find changes that affect you, and then click the corresponding link to read the documentation.
| Category | Type | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Core functionality | Change (all apps) |
ART internal changes Android 16 includes the latest updates to the Android Runtime (ART) that improve the Android Runtime's (ART's) performance and provide support for additional Java features. Through Google Play System updates, these improvements are also available to over a billion devices running Android 12 (API level 31) and higher. As these changes are released, libraries and app code that rely on internal structures of ART might not work correctly on devices running Android 16, along with earlier Android versions that update the ART module through Google Play system updates. |
| Core functionality | Change (all apps) |
JobScheduler quota optimizations Android 16 adjusts the regular and expedited job execution runtime quota based on a few factors: which app standby bucket the application is in, whether the job starts execution while the app is in a top state, and whether the job is executing while running a Foreground Service. |
| Core functionality | Change (all apps) |
Abandoned empty jobs stop reason To detect and reduce abandoned jobs, apps should use the new STOP_REASON_TIMEOUT_ABANDONED job stop reason that the system assigns for abandoned jobs, instead of STOP_REASON_TIMEOUT. |
| Core functionality | Change (all apps) |
Ordered broadcast priority scope no longer global In Android 16, broadcast delivery order using the android:priority attribute or IntentFilter#setPriority() across different processes will not be guaranteed. Broadcast priorities for ordered broadcasts will only be respected within the same application process rather than across all system processes. |
| Core functionality | Change (all apps) |
16 KB page size compatibility mode Android 15 introduced support for 16 KB memory pages to optimize performance of the platform. Android 16 adds a compatibility mode, allowing some apps built for 4 KB memory pages to run on a device configured for 16 KB memory pages. |
| Core functionality | Change (apps targeting 16+) |
Fixed rate work scheduling optimization For apps targeting targeting Android 16 or higher, at most one missed execution of scheduleAtFixedRate will be immediately executed when the app returns to a valid lifecycle. |
| Core functionality | New features and APIs |
Two Android API releases in 2025 In Android 16, the preview is for the next major release of Android with a planned launch in Q2 of 2025. This release is similar to all of our API releases in the past, where we can have planned behavior changes that are often tied to a targetSdkVersion. We plan to have another release in Q4 of 2025 which also will include new developer APIs. The Q2 major release will be the only release in 2025 to include planned behavior changes that could affect apps. |
| User experience and system UI | Change (all apps) |
Deprecating disruptive accessibility announcements Android 16 deprecates accessibility announcements, characterized by the use of announceForAccessibility or the dispatch of TYPE_ANNOUNCEMENT accessibility events. |
| User experience and system UI | Change (all apps) |
Support for 3-button navigation Android 16 brings predictive back support to the 3-button navigation for apps that have properly migrated to predictive back. |
| User experience and system UI | Change (apps targeting 16+) |
Elegant font APIs deprecated and disabled Android 16 deprecates the elegantTextHeight attribute, and the attribute will be ignored once your app targets Android 16. |
| User experience and system UI | Change (apps targeting 16+) |
Edge to edge opt-out going away For apps targeting Android 16 or higher, the R.attr#windowOptOutEdgeToEdgeEnforcement attribute has been removed, requiring apps that were using it to handle window insets. |
| User experience and system UI | Change (apps targeting 16+) |
Migration or opt-out required for predictive back For apps targeting Android 16, system animations such as back-to-home, cross-task, and cross-activity now appear for apps by default. To reflect this in the system, the default value of android:enableOnBackInvokedCallback is now true, and calls to OnBackPressed and KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK are ignored. |
| User experience and system UI | New features and APIs |
Predictive back updates Android 16 adds new APIs to help you enable predictive back system animations in gesture navigation such as the back-to-home animation. Android 16 additionally adds the finishAndRemoveTaskCallback() and moveTaskToBackCallback. |
| User experience and system UI | New features and APIs |
Richer haptics Android 16 adds haptic APIs that let apps define the amplitude and frequency curves of a haptic effect while abstracting away differences between device capabilities. |
| User experience and system UI | New features and APIs |
Progress-centric notifications Android 16 introduces progress-centric notifications to help users seamlessly track user-initiated, start-to-end journeys. These notifications have upgraded visibility on system surfaces and top ranking in the notification drawer. |
| User experience and system UI | New features and APIs |
Content handling for live wallpapers In Android 16, the live wallpaper framework is gaining a new content API to address the challenges of dynamic, user-driven wallpapers. |
| Security | Change (all apps) |
Improved security against Intent Redirect attacks Android 16 introduces by-default security hardening solutions to Intent redirect exploits. |
| Security | New features and APIs |
Key sharing API Android 16 adds APIs that support sharing access to Android Keystore keys with other apps. |
| Health and fitness | Change (apps targeting 16+) |
Health and fitness permissions For apps targeting Android 16 or higher, health and fitness permissions are transitioning to a more granular set of permissions under android.permissions.health that are used by Health Connect. |
| Large screens and form factors | Change (apps targeting 16+) |
Adaptive layouts For apps targeting Android 16 or higher, the platform ignores manifest attributes and runtime APIs that restrict screen orientation, aspect ratios, and resizability. |
| Large screens and form factors | New features and APIs |
Standardized picture and audio quality framework for TVs Android 16 introduces the MediaQuality package that exposes a set of standardized APIs for access to audio and picture profiles and hardware-related settings. This allows streaming apps to query profiles and apply them to media dynamically. |
| Performance and battery | New features and APIs |
Start component in ApplicationStartInfo Android 16 adds getStartComponent() to distinguish what component type triggered the start, which can be helpful for optimizing the startup flow of your app. |
| Performance and battery | New features and APIs |
Adaptive refresh rate Android 16 introduces hasArrSupport() and getSuggestedFrameRate(int) while restoring getSupportedRefreshRates() to make it easier for your apps to take advantage of ARR. |
| Performance and battery | New features and APIs |
Better job introspection In Android 16, we're introducing JobScheduler#getPendingJobReasons(), which returns multiple reasons why a job is pending, due to both explicit constraints set by the developer and implicit constraints set by the system. We're also introducing JobScheduler#getPendingJobReasonsHistory(), which returns the a list of the most recent pending job reason changes. |
| Performance and battery | New features and APIs |
System-triggered profiling Android 16 introduces system-triggered profiling to ProfilingManager. Apps can register interest in receiving traces for certain triggers such as cold start reportFullyDrawn or ANRs, and then the system starts and stops a trace on the app's behalf. After the trace completes, the results are delivered to the app's data directory. |
| Performance and battery | New features and APIs |
Headroom APIs in ADPF In Android 16, the SystemHealthManager introduces the getCpuHeadroom and getGpuHeadroom APIs, designed to provide games and resource-intensive apps with estimates of available CPU and GPU resources. |
| Connectivity | New features and APIs |
Ranging with enhanced security Android 16 adds support for robust security features in Wi-Fi location on supported devices with Wi-Fi 6 802.11az, allowing apps to combine the higher accuracy, greater scalability, and dynamic scheduling of the protocol with security enhancements including AES-256-based encryption and protection against MITM attacks. |
| Connectivity | New features and APIs |
Generic ranging APIs Android 16 includes the new RangingManager, which provides ways to determine the distance and angle on supported hardware between the local device and a remote device. |
| Media | New features and APIs |
Photo picker improvements Android 16 includes improvements to the photo picker such as new APIs that enable apps to embed the photo picker into their view hierarchy and new APIs that enable searching from the cloud media provider for the Android photo picker. |
| Media | New features and APIs |
Advanced Professional Video Android 16 introduces support for the Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec which is designed to be used for professional level high quality video recording and post production. |
| Privacy | New features and APIs |
Health Connect updates Health Connect adds ACTIVITY_INTENSITY, a new datatype defined according to World Health Organization guidelines around moderate and vigorous activity. Health Connect also contains updated APIs supporting health records. This allows apps to read and write medical records in FHIR format with explicit user consent. This API is in an early access program. If you want to participate, sign up to be part of our early access program. |
| Privacy | New features and APIs |
Privacy Sandbox on Android Android 16 incorporates the latest version of the Privacy Sandbox on Android, part of our ongoing work to develop technologies where users know their privacy is protected. |
| Camera | New features and APIs |
Precise color temperature and tint adjustments Android 16 adds camera support for fine color temperature and tint adjustments to better support professional video recording applications. |
| Camera | New features and APIs |
Hybrid auto-exposure Android 16 adds new hybrid auto-exposure modes to Camera2, allowing you to manually control specific aspects of exposure while letting the auto-exposure (AE) algorithm handle the rest. |
| Camera | New features and APIs |
Motion photo capture intent actions Android 16 adds standard Intent actions — ACTION_MOTION_PHOTO_CAPTURE, and ACTION_MOTION_PHOTO_CAPTURE_SECURE — which request that the camera application capture a motion photo and return it. |
| Camera | New features and APIs |
Camera night mode scene detection To help your app know when to switch to and from a night mode camera session, Android 16 adds EXTENSION_NIGHT_MODE_INDICATOR. If supported, you can use CaptureResult within Camera2. |
| Camera | New features and APIs |
UltraHDR image enhancements Android 16 adds support for UltraHDR images in the HEIC file format. |
| Internationalization | New features and APIs |
Vertical text Android 16 adds low-level support for rendering and measuring text vertically to provide foundational vertical writing support for library developers. |
| Internationalization | New features and APIs |
Measurement system customization Android 16 adds the ability to customize your measurement system in regional preferences within Settings. |
| Accessibility | New features and APIs |
Improved accessibility APIs Android 16 adds additional APIs to enhance UI semantics that help improve consistency for users that rely on accessibility services, such as TalkBack. |
| Accessibility | New features and APIs |
Phone as microphone input for voice calls with LEA hearing aids Android 16 adds the capability for users of LE Audio hearing aids to switch between the built-in microphones on the hearing aids and the microphone on their phone for voice calls. |
| Accessibility | New features and APIs |
Ambient volume controls for LEA hearing aids Android 16 adds the capability for users of LE Audio hearing aids to adjust the volume of ambient sound that is picked up by the hearing aid's microphones. |
| Graphics | New features and APIs |
Custom graphical effects with AGSL Android 16 adds RuntimeColorFilter and RuntimeXfermode, allowing you to author complex effects like Threshold, Sepia, and Hue Saturation and apply them to draw calls. |