Android 16’s QPR2 update brings new parental control options to Pixel phones, which will appear in the phone's Settings menu.
Android 16 QPR2 update lets users change the theme of app icons
Photo Credit: Google
Android 16 QPR2 (Quarterly Platform Release 2) update has been released for select Google Pixel phones, the Mountain View-based tech giant announced on Tuesday. The new update brings new AI-powered features, customisation options, and parental control tools, which have been integrated into the phone's settings. Google's Pixel devices will soon start presenting notification summaries for individual messages and group chats, along with a new notification organiser. Users will also be able to change the theme of various app icons on their home screen. It also brings the latest December 2025 security patch to the phones.
In a blog post, the Mountain View-based tech giant announced that it is now releasing the Android 16 QPR2 update to Google Pixel phones with new features. However, a detailed release schedule has yet to be revealed. The latest Android 16 update introduces various customisation options and AI-powered features, along with new parental controls.
Soon, Google Pixel models running on the latest Android 16 QPR2 update will start displaying AI-generated notification summaries, which will “condense” lengthy text messages and group chat threads, allowing users to get the gist and context at a glance. Moreover, the notification organiser will now automatically group and silence notifications, like promotions, news, and social alerts, which the phone deems to be of lower priority. The company claims that this will reduce distractions to help users remain focused.
The latest Android 16 QPR2 update also introduces new customisation features. The Google Pixel phone will now allow users to change the appearance of the app icons on the home screen by choosing one of the five shapes. Moreover, in the style menu, people select themes for the icons, too, which will be automatically applied across apps.
A new Dark Theme setting is included in the update, which automatically darkens “most light apps”, whether they natively support it or not. The tech giant highlighted that this helps in saving battery, while offering eye comfort.
Lastly, the new Android 16 QPR2 update also introduces new Parental Control options, which will appear in the Settings menu, allowing families to access these features in a single place and the Google Family Link. Guardians will be able to set a limit on the amount of screen time their children get. Moreover, they can set downtime schedules, which will automatically lock the Google Pixel phone at night.
They will have more control over app usage, too, enabling them to limit the time spent on an app or block it “entirely”. However, the new parental control options will allow guardians to add more time when the set limit is reached or extend the scheduled break when needed.
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