Summary
- Google is finally rolling out Material 3 Expressive to Pixel 6 and later models.
- The update completely revamps the user interface, bringing more customisation features and animations.
- One of the highlights includes Live effects, which lets users customise wallpapers on the home and lock screen
Google has released its September feature drop for Pixel devices, bringing Material 3 Expressive to older Pixel phones, Tablet, Buds and Watch.
The latest Pixel Drop is now rolling out to Pixel 6 and newer devices, alongside the Pixel Tablet. It includes Material 3 Expressive, which Google has been testing since June 2025, and it completely revamps Android's UI on Pixels.
The update finally brings revamped customisable Quick Settings and home screen with new animations. The animations are now more fluid with springy effects when interacting with the UI elements. One of the main Material 3 Expressive features is the new wallpaper customisations.
Live effects add customisations like shapes, weather effects and 3D motion to wallpapers for home and lock screens. Also, while not exclusive to the feature drop or to Pixels, users can now create Calling cards on the Phone app.
Beyond phones and tablets, the update also improves the Pixel Buds Pro 2, introducing nod to answer and shake to dismiss gestures, plus nod-based text replies (English only for now). Adaptive Audio will arrive later this month to improve voice pickup for Gemini.
On the Pixel Watch, Google Maps now launches navigation automatically when biking or walking, making turn-by-turn guidance effortless.
Material 3 Expressive was exclusive to the Pixel 10 series until now, but Google is finally rolling it out to all the Android 16-supported Pixel phones. Expect further design updates and new features in upcoming Pixel Feature Drops.
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