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Android phones used to lag behind the Apple iPhone when it came to consistent software updates, on the the factors endlessly fuelling the iPhone vs Android online debate.
But the tables are starting to turn.
As well as the annual update, Google also offers Pixel owners a quarterly ‘Feature Drop’ update where it releases new software perks.
This is different to the most recent December software update for Pixels that focused on various bug fixes.
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But something exciting is coming to Android devices in March.
According to Tech Advisor, Google is set to treat Pixel owners to a Feature Drop in spring next year, with the beta version of Android 16 QPR3 already out.
One of the major features is that Pixel users will be able to rearrange the three virtual navigation buttons to match Samsung’s default setup. For years, Android phones had three navigation buttons - back, home, and recents (which show your open apps). Google arranged them in that exact order. However, Samsung flipped the two outer buttons, putting recents on the left and back on the right, with home still in the middle.
Most Android phones now use swipe gestures for navigation instead of buttons. But you can still choose the three-button option if you prefer. Since Samsung is the world's most popular Android brand, millions of people are still using this button layout.
Google enabling Pixel users to switch to Samsung's layout is a belated setting that people migrating from Samsung to Pixel would likely prefer.
It's somewhat surprising that this only becomes available in 2025, as most other Android brands already allow button reordering.
Meanwhile, Google will also allow users to remove the At a Glance widget from the Android homescreen. This widget displays the date and a customisable selection of time-relevant information, such as weather and calendar appointments. Removal was never previously possible, until this new Android version.
Tech experts also revealed that the new beta will allow Pixel device users to adjust the torch intensity, a feature iPhones introduced a while back. In addition, a new location-sharing indicator will appear as a small blue dot in the top-right corner, joining the existing green dot indicating microphone access. These dots alert you when an app accesses your location or microphone, allowing you to address it if you deem it suspicious.
All these updates should arrive for Pixel 6 and later models, but one update is exclusive to the Pixel 10 series and that is a GPU upgrade. The hardware handling graphics performance reportedly receives a performance boost in this Pixel update, potentially improving overall performance beyond just gaming.
