Android 16 Update Offers Smarter Notifications, New Personalization Tools

Google began rolling out a new Android 16 update this week. The company says this marks the start of a new chapter for Android, with smaller, more frequent updates rather than a single yearly release. This should enable new features to reach users sooner.

One of the main additions is AI-powered notification summaries, which condense long chats and group conversations into short and easy-to-scan snippets in the notification shade. Android 16 also adds a notification organizer that automatically groups and quiets lower-priority alerts, such as promotions, news, and social updates. (It's a bit like Gmail's Gemini update from May.)

New personalization options let users pick custom app icon shapes and apply themed icons across supported apps. An expanded dark theme now darkens most light-only apps to reduce eye strain.

The update also introduces a new Parental Controls section to Android Settings. Protected by a PIN, the section allows ...