Google Releases Android 16 QPR3 Beta 2 for Pixel Devices with Key Fixes
Google has rolled out Android 16 QPR3 Beta 2 for Pixel devices, introducing a series of enhancements aimed at improving system stability, performance, and user experience. This update follows the initial QPR3 Beta release in December 2025 and is part of Google’s Quarterly Platform Releases (QPRs), which deliver more substantial updates compared to the regular monthly patches. The stable version of Android 16 QPR3 is anticipated to launch in March 2026.
Key Fixes and Improvements:
– System Stability: The update addresses critical system crashes and device freezes, enhancing overall reliability.
– Battery Management: Issues where devices ignored charging limits or experienced excessive battery drain have been corrected, leading to more efficient power usage.
– Connectivity Enhancements: Improvements have been made to resolve slow Wi-Fi speeds and missed calls, ensuring more reliable network performance.
– User Interface Refinements: UI glitches in the notification shade and app drawer have been fixed, providing smoother navigation and interaction.
Specific Issues Resolved:
– App Drawer Responsiveness: An issue causing the app drawer to become unresponsive when scrolling has been fixed by updating UI element rendering.
– Android Auto Screen Time Logging: Incorrect logging of extensive screen time by Android Auto, which impacted battery life, has been addressed.
– Notification Shade Performance: Graphical glitches and performance degradation when interacting with the notification shade in full-screen or Picture-in-Picture modes have been resolved by improving display rendering.
– Overnight Battery Drain: Excessive battery drain occurring overnight has been mitigated by optimizing background process power consumption.
– Charging Limit Compliance: Devices not respecting the set battery charging limit and charging to 100% have been corrected.
– Wi-Fi Speed Issues: Slow internet speeds on Wi-Fi due to a connection bug have been fixed.
– Radio Information Settings Crash: A crash occurring when accessing radio information settings has been resolved.
– Audio Output Switching Delay: Delays and lack of feedback when switching audio outputs to speakerphone during calls have been addressed by improving audio routing logic.
– Screen Flickering on Wake: Screen flickering when waking the device from Always-On Display has been fixed by updating the system webview.
– App Crashes on Startup: Crashes of certain apps, including Microsoft applications managed by Intune, due to compatibility issues with the Android system have been resolved.
– Charging Inconsistencies: Inconsistent or failed wireless charging and slow wired charging issues have been addressed by improving the power management system.
– Foldable Device Crashes: System crashes occurring when folding a foldable device with an app open have been fixed by addressing activity lifecycle management during device state changes.
Availability:
Android 16 QPR3 Beta 2, with the January 2026 security patch, is available for the following Pixel devices:
– Pixel 6
– Pixel 6 Pro
– Pixel 7
– Pixel 7 Pro
– Pixel 7a
– Pixel Tablet
– Pixel Fold
– Pixel 8
– Pixel 8 Pro
– Pixel 8a
– Pixel 9
– Pixel 9 Pro
– Pixel 9 Pro XL
– Pixel 9 Pro Fold
– Pixel 9a
– Pixel 10
– Pixel 10 Pro
– Pixel 10 Pro XL
– Pixel 10 Pro Fold
Users enrolled in the Android Beta for Pixel program will receive an over-the-air (OTA) update to Beta 2. The Android Beta Feedback app is available on Pixel devices for submitting problems, accessible from the app drawer or via Quick Settings.
