Google’s Android 16 Beta 3 introduces a new battery icon design that dynamically changes colors—red, green, and white—to indicate the device’s charging status and remaining battery level. As part of a broader overhaul of the status bar, these updated icons, including a redesigned battery indicator and adjusted Wi-Fi signal icon, are currently hidden in the beta version. While the changes appear promising, their official release with Android 16 is not guaranteed; they may be included in a future update or even in Android 17.
Users can expect new features ahead of the stable Android 16 release, which is still a few months away. The recent beta has revealed various changes that Google is exploring for future iterations. Notably, it brings a refreshed user interface (UI) that builds upon the settings redesign from Android 15, enhancing its sub-menus.
Moreover, the beta introduces transparent notification alerts and relocates the lock screen clock to the notification shade. A significant addition to this beta version is the highly anticipated battery health monitoring feature, which tracks your Pixel’s battery capacity and offers tips for minimizing battery degradation. The Android status bar may also receive an upgrade, featuring a dynamic battery indicator that varies based on the remaining charge.
This redesign has reportedly been in development for around a year and was initially expected to debut with Android 15, but that didn’t materialize. Current indications suggest that these enhancements will instead come towards the latter stages of Android 16’s lifecycle. The battery colors indicate different capacities: white indicates sufficient charge without charging, green means the device is charging, and red signals low battery.
The battery percentage text may also appear bolder than what is seen in Android 15, alongside a design reminiscent of iOS’s Wi-Fi icon. Since these updates are still concealed in the beta version, simply updating may not reveal the new UI. This uncertainty raises the possibility that these updated icons might not be included in the first stable release of Android 16 and could instead be pushed to future quarterly updates or delayed until Android 17.
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