Android 16, which will arrive on many Xiaomi smartphones, presents itself with a completely renewed look thanks to Material 3 Expressive, a new graphic philosophy that focuses on fluid animations, blurs, dynamic colors and responsive components. From notifications to the home screen, everything has been redesigned to look more design, elastic and engaging. But behind the aesthetic innovations lies much more.
Android 16 introduces the new Material 3 Expressive design: all the news
The new design is a true evolution of Material 3, and not a break with the past. Google has preferred refine and enhance what was there, rather than turning everything upside down. And this shows.
The first thing that strikes you are the animations. Now every movement on the screen responds fluidly, as if the phone actually knows what you want to do. When you clear a notification, the others react visually, too. When you switch apps, the transition feels more natural.
Le tactile interactions imitate real physics. If you move a cursor or turn up the volume, the smartphone “responds” in a more realistic way. background blur officially enters the notification panel and quick settings. This depth effect keeps the context active and reduces the feeling of “distance” between one action and another.
On the graphics front, Android 16 introduces a updated typography, dynamic colors e adaptive components that transform depending on the content and your actions.
But there is a new development that is causing discussion: the updates in real time, or interactive notifications on the lock screen and Always-On display, designed for delivery, taxi and navigation apps. Yes, they look like very similar to iOS 16's Live Activities. Coincidence? Probably not.
Le icons in the status bar They're now more visually separated, and the entire home screen feels more compact. When you open the notification shade, the system applies a blur that lets you see the background, with buttons below to manage everything from notification history to clearing them.
I quick settings buttons are resizable: you can show more or just the essential ones, and when activated they transform into clearly visible rounded rectangles. Also brightness and volume change face: the cursors are more marked and separated, definitely more readable.
Google hasn't just given the operating system a makeover. Its main apps are already adopting Material 3 Expressive. The first concrete example is Google Keep, but the transformation has just begun. The new Gemini widgets they will follow the same style, and the focus is on uniformity and visual coherence.
In total, with Android 16 there have been redesigned or added fifteen components graphics. It ranges from the classics menu to the new ones loading indicators, through buttons, toolbars and carousels. Some, like the FAB (Floating Action Button) and app bar, have received an updated style to look more modern and usable.
Such noticeable changes might suggest a negative impact on performance or battery life. But according to Google, it is not like that. The new look doesn't consume more. Indeed, visual management has been optimized to remain light, especially on Pixels.
While we're at it, here's the list of Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones that will officially update to Android 16:
- Xiaomi 15 series: Xiaomi 15, Xiaomi 15 Ultra
- Xiaomi 14 series: Xiaomi 14, Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Xiaomi 14T, Xiaomi 14T Pro
- Xiaomi 13T Series: Xiaomi 13T, Xiaomi 13T Pro
- Redmi Note 14 series: Redmi Note 14, Redmi Note 14 5G, Redmi Note 14 Pro, Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G, Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G
- Redmi Note 13 series: Redmi Note 13 Pro, Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G, Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G
- Xiaomi tablet: Xiaomi Mi Pad Pro, Xiaomi Mi Pad Pro 5G, Redmi Pad SE 8.7, Redmi Pad SE 8.7 4G
- Other models: Redmi 14C, Redmi 13
