Google fixes the vibrating Android 16 bug that was frustrating users

By Georgina Torbet Published April 3, 2025

Android-16-Beta 3.2 — Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

Android 16 arrived last month, and users have been enjoying new features including live updates from apps like food delivery or ride hailing, audio sharing so you can listen to music with friends over Bluetooth, and support for adjusting screen refresh rates to keep up with newer displays. However, there have been a few annoyances with the new features too, like issues with the haptic feedback. Now, Google is rolling out a new beta version of the OS, Android 16 Beta 3.2, to address these issues.

The fix for haptic feedback is the biggest change in the new release. In Android 16, Google added more options for developers to control the way your phone buzzes when taking certain actions or getting certain notifications. The light vibrations help with navigation and awareness, though these aren’t changes to the Android notification system itself — rather, there are now more options for app developers to make use of fine-grained haptics.

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However, there were issues with the new haptic system, with users of some Google Pixel phones in particular complaining that their phones were vibrating too hard. The haptic vibrations were much stronger than previously, particularly when typing. And this didn’t appear to be an intended change, as it only impacted users of certain phone models.

Now with the release of the new beta version of Android, Google says it is “[fixing] an issue that caused haptic feedback to be miscalibrated in some cases.” That will be welcome news to the Pixel users who have been annoyed by this change.

Other updates in the new beta include fixing a battery drain issue and fixing a screen flickering issue when using the camera. If you’re in the Android Beta Program you can download the new version now, but if not then you shouldn’t have to wait too much longer for these small annoyances to be fixed.

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Georgina Torbet

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Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…

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Android 16 brings a blind fingerprint unlock perk to Pixel phones

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Google is currently moving full steam ahead with the development of Android 16. Following the release of a third beta update just over a week ago, Android 16 has reached the platform stability milestone. Though the latest test build is light on feature updates, it brings a cool new trick.
On Pixel smartphones, users can now unlock their phone even if the screen is completely dark. First spotted by the folks over at Android Authority, the new “Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock” feature has been integrated within the phone’s Security & Privacy dashboard.
So far, Pixel smartphone users had to wake up the screen and put their thumb atop the fingerprint sensor icon on the Lock Screen. This had to be done either by waking up the screen with a tap gesture, or by pressing the power button.
Thanks to the new screen-off unlock convenience, users can simply place their thumb atop the in-display fingerprint sensor and get past the Lock Screen. There is no longer an intermittent hassle of lighting up the screen.

I was able to enable this feature after installing the Android 16 Beta 3.1 build, which runs atop the March 2025 security update, on a Pixel 8 smartphone. The new feature is a thoughtful convenience and works flawlessly.
It does, however, take a bit of muscle memory to land the thumb right above the fingerprint sensor on an otherwise dark screen. Also worth noting here is the fact that Google won’t be the first smartphone maker to offer this convenience.
I tried unlocking my OnePlus 13 and Samsung Galaxy S25 without waking up the screen, and it works just fine. Both devices are currently running Android 15, and notably, offer a faster fingerprint unlock experience compared to the Pixel 8, irrespective of whether the screen is on or off.
I’d like to point out that the screen-off fingerprint unlock system has arrived with a beta build, and Google might remove — or delay it — when the stable Android 16 update starts rolling out widely in the coming months.
For now, your only option to experience it is by enrolling in the Android 16 beta-testing program on a compatible Google Pixel smartphone. I would, however, recommend waiting out a few more weeks for the stable update to land on your Pixel smartphone, and save yourself the buggy mess of test builds.

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While Android 15 focussed little on visual upgrades brought in privacy features, such as partial screen recording and Private Space. This year, too, Google doesn't seem too keen to focus much on a radical aesthetic overhaul.

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