Android 16 QPR2 has breathed new life into my Google Pixel 9 Pro

When I got my Pixel 10 Pro XL, I thought I would never look again at my “older” Pixel 9 Pro XL. I realize how privileged and braggy this sounds, but it’s the reality of my job: New Pixel lands at my desk, ergo last year’s Pixel, which I was perfectly happy with until two seconds earlier, instantly feels antiquated. But this hasn’t been the case this year, and the reason is Android 16. Specifically, all the major updates to Android 16 that have appeared on my Pixel 9 Pro XL, with the most recent one being the Android 16 QPR2 update.

More elaborate Material 3 Expressive

One of the biggest changes of Android 16 QPR1 was the introduction of Material 3 Expressive, Google’s improved, more colorful, more playful, and more shape-shifting design language for Android. That came with new blur everywhere, a more customizable Quick Settings panel, and a new Settings app, and it already felt like a huge change on my Pixel 9 Pro XL. But with QPR2, this new design feels more polished all around.

It’s true that there aren’t major changes here, but the finishing touches bring Material 3 Expressive together on my phone. Icon shapes are back with a choice of four new shapes on top of the existing circle. I really missed having the square with rounded corners option from pre-Android 12, and I’m glad it’s now back on my Pixel. Google has also pushed themed icons to the next level, forcing them to apply even on apps that don’t support them. Lazy developers are no longer an obstacle to a homogenous home screen, and I love that everything now looks in harmony on my phone.

There’s a way to turn off background blur now, too, though I’m not using it. I got used to the blur, and going back to a flat background feels like a regression. Google has also added a new Expanded dark mode that forces apps into dark mode, even the ones with no dark mode out of the box. It doesn’t work everywhere well, but it’s saving me from burning my eyes when checking my upcoming holiday trip with Transavia at night.

More notification management helpers

Google’s fight against notification overload has brought us three important features since the first Android 16 launch: notification cooldown, notification summaries, and now notification organizer with QPR2. Since my Pixel 9 Pro XL is my secondary device, I used to hate the first few seconds when I unlocked it because of the deluge of pending notifications waiting for me.

Now, when I unlock my Pixel 9 Pro XL after a few hours or more of idling, I’m greeted with a more manageable notification load. Many app notifications are grouped together in four categories: News, Social, Promotions, and Suggested. I can instantly check News and ignore most of the rest. That already saves my blood from boiling over the fact that syncing notification dismissal is enabled between my devices, but it doesn’t seem to do a thing.

So far, I’ve mostly seen the News and Promotions categories at play, since I disable most of my social notifications by default, and I don’t get that many newsletters to trigger the Suggested category. Google still has a bit of refining to do here, but I love that I can opt out apps I don’t want to group. I just wish I could teach the AI where some notifications go, especially all my Gmail emails.

Lock screen widgets and so much more

Between the redesigned lock screen, clock designs and weather effects, Magic Portrait, and new screen saver options, Android 16 has been changing a lot in the way my Pixel 9 Pro XL behaves when idling. I can now leave it on the charger and use it as a photo frame or a smart home control center. And when I pick it up, the new lock screen shows up with any ongoing live updates, my favorite clock design, and a pic of my husband. It’s all too adorable.

Android 16 QPR2 managed to add a few more things to all of this. For one, there are lock screen widgets now, which let me perform actions on my Pixel 9 Pro XL before even unlocking it or picking it up. I just wish the “Hub mode” worked so I could set the widgets to show up by default when the phone is charging, but I’ll take the manual trigger for now.

The second improvement is in Google bringing back the option to unlock the phone even if its screen is off. I don’t need to pick the Pixel 9 Pro XL or tap the screen first, just put my thumb on the fingerprint sensor and I’m in. Once again, for a phone that I thought I’d be using less now that I have the Pixel 10 Pro XL, this change has made me want to use it more.

And finally, once I’m actually using the phone, the new 90:10 split-screen mode makes multitasking and using this as a secondary display so much more fluid. I can keep Spotify as the top tiny app, Slack as the bottom large app, and quickly switch between the two with a tap.

My colleague Joe has already stated that Android QPR1 made his Pixel 9 Pro feel like a Pixel 10 Pro, and I think this rings even more true with the newest QPR2 update. My “old” Pixel 9 Pro XL feels new again. Almost everything about it now is so different from when I first set it up in 2024, and I hope this continues with further updates. Seeing new life come to phones that are still perfectly capable makes the old habit of yearly upgrades so unnecessary. Well, for anyone who doesn’t work in tech journalism, I suppose — I still have to justify my need to try new phones every year!