Android 16 introduced several headline new features, like Live Updates, auto-grouping of similar notifications to reduce clutter, and most importantly, Material 3 Expressive design language.
But there’s one change that has mostly flown under the radar, one that I believe makes the biggest usability change: the overhauled Quick Settings.
Smaller tiles, bigger impact
Fitting more toggles means fewer swipes
Google has tweaked Android’s Quick Settings panel with almost every other release. However, with Android 16 — more specifically, QPR1 — it gave the panel its biggest usability upgrade in years.
The changes may not seem like a big deal at first, but after months of using Android 16 on my Google Pixel 8 Pro, I’ve realized they make a noticeable difference in everyday use.
In the initial Android 16 and older OS releases, the Quick Settings panel featured large 2×1 tiles. That meant you could only have two tiles per row. The oversized format meant the tile always showed a label alongside each icon.
This helped with easy identification, but it was not always needed, especially for tiles like Bluetooth and Airplane mode, which are easily identifiable. Instead, they wasted precious space that could have been taken up by another tile.
With Android 16 QPR1, taking a cue from Apple’s Control Center revamp in iOS 18, Google added the ability to resize each tile down to 1×1. That means I can now fit more tiles per row — up to four instead of two.
It works especially well for the top rows, since those tiles are also visible in the notification shade. Because I can see more at a glance — eight tiles at once — I don’t always need to expand the Quick Settings panel.
Again, this may not seem like a big deal. But throughout the day, I access these tiles multiple times. So, this small improvement adds up. I spend less time expanding the panel and looking for the right toggle.
More often than not, I can get things done in a single swipe. That includes toggling auto-rotate, turning on the flashlight, enabling a particular mode, or creating a Wi-Fi hotspot — all without expanding the Quick Settings panel.
Resizing the tiles also frees up more usable space in the Quick Settings panel. As a result, I can fit more tiles on a single screen, including ones from third-party apps.
Before Android 16, I had to swipe to the second or third page of the Quick Settings panel to access some tiles, so I rarely used them.
This is no longer the case, as most tiles are now within easy reach, making me far more likely to use them in daily life.
The smaller tiles go well with the revamped Material 3 Expressive look and blur. There’s a glassy background when you swipe down to expand the Quick Settings panel. It helps improve readability and makes the icons easier to understand.
Resizing Quick Settings tiles and saving those changes isn’t very intuitive. There’s a Remove option in the upper-right corner, but no clear “Save” button. Instead, I have to swipe back to apply the changes — a gesture that Google does not make obvious at all.
Tiles are finally getting smarter
Labels and icons now do different things
Google did not just make the Quick Settings tiles resizable in Android 16 QPR1. It also improved their functionality. The most important one is the ability to adjust the flashlight’s strength.
A long-press on the flashlight tile brings up a pop-up that allows me to adjust the flashlight’s intensity. Again, you may dismiss this feature as pointless. But after you start using it, there’s no going back.
Similarly, the Bluetooth tile is now more intuitive to use. Tapping the label opens a menu showing my paired devices, while tapping the icon itself toggles Bluetooth on or off.
Many other tiles in the Quick Settings panel mirror the same functionality. For example, I can tap the Modes label on the tile to view a list of available modes and enable one of them, or tap the icon to turn on Do Not Disturb.
Even the mobile data tile works similarly. Tapping the label brings up the mobile and Wi-Fi networks the phone is connected to, while tapping the icon toggles mobile data on or off.
This behavior is not available with all tiles, though. Tapping the Hotspot tile’s label or icon directly enables the feature. To access its advanced settings, I need to long-press the tile.
To go along with all these changes, Android 16 neatly organizes Quick Settings tiles into categories like Connectivity, Display, Utilities, Privacy, and system apps. This makes the edit screen far easier to navigate, especially as the number of available tiles continues to grow.
Instead of scrolling through a long, unstructured list, I can quickly jump to the category I need and find the right toggle without wasting time.
An underrated Android change you will grow to love
There are several flashy new features in Android 16, especially in the later QPR builds. By comparison, the Quick Settings overhaul sits relatively low on that list.
But it has the most impact on everyday use, as the small, thoughtful improvements make everyday use faster and more intuitive. This improved experience allowed me to replace my phone’s home screen with Quick Settings.
