The Android 16 launch date is coming up surprisingly quickly, and it won’t be long before the first beta version of the software is available for us all to enjoy. While there’s still a lot we don’t know about Android 16 and the changes it will incorporate, it looks like we may see some design changes to both the back button and the volume slider.
Yes, the volume slider is being redesigned again. Even though Android 15 has already changed the look of the different volume levels on your phone, Mishaal Rahman spotted more changes in the Android 16 developer preview that could come to the final update. Notably, it is doing away with the thick pill-shaped sliders currently utilized in Android 15.
Instead, Rahman's screenshots show off thinner volume sliders, more squared off at the edges, and have a solid handle line at their tip, which looks much better than the sausage-shaped sliders currently in use. This change will affect the horizontal volume pop-up menu and the quick-access slider that shows up when you use the physical volume keys.
Android 16 may also see the predictive back feature get even more useful. The feature is supposed to realize what you’re trying to use the back gesture for, showing you a preview of what page you’re going to end up on. That way, you don’t end up in the wrong place, like the home screen, because the back button closes the app instead of jumping back to the previous screen.
The problem is that right now, this feature doesn’t work if you use the back button from the traditional three-button menu — only the gesture. That looks like it might change with Android 16, with Rahman noting that the Android 16 developer preview lets you activate the button-based predictive back with “some tinkering”.
Rahman also claims that Google will be adding another gesture to three-button navigation in Android 16 — letting you summon Google Assistant or whatever alternative you’ve set up as the default. This is an optional feature for gesture navigation already, and it means three-button fans could get that same option in the next Android version.
Right now, it’s unclear whether these features will still make it to the final version of Android 16 or even the first beta. Not only can things change compared to Android 16’s developer preview, but Google may prefer to keep these features hidden away and out of sight of regular users. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens when Android 16 actually arrives.
Currently, the Android 16 beta is expected to launch in the coming weeks, while the final public version should be released in May or June.
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