Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
Tl;
- Google tests new icons for different status line elements such as WiFi, mobile data, aircraft mode and battery level.
- We have previously discovered the new designs for WiFi, mobile data and flight modes last year, but the battery level icon has been significantly renewed since we last saw it.
- Instead of having a white background at all times, the new battery level icon we discovered in Android 16 has a vibrant green background when the device is charged and red background when little on power.
Google does not change Android’s user interface all so often, much to dismay vocal power users online. The upcoming Android 16 For example, updates do not look so different from last year’s release or the previous year. However, we know that Google is hard to do about reason Android’s user interface, as we have seen extensive evidence of various UI changes in recent months. One area that we thought Google had left was the status bar, but in the latest Beta release we discovered that the company has renewed the work of renewing the status line icons, including a new battery icon that is more colorful.
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Last year we discovered that Google was preparing a Renewed status bar with new icons and haptics. We found some new icons for different status line elements such as Wi-Fi signal strength, mobile data signal strength, aircraft mode and battery level. Considering that Google has not fine -tuned the basic design of these icons since Android 5.0 Lollipop’s release in 2014We thought the changes were quite remarkable. Some people were not fans of the new icons, so we were curious about Google planning to change them before release.
Months went without signs of the new status line icons, even though the other changes we discovered – the haptic feedback for the quick setting panel and the volume slider – built in the stable release of Android 15. Google experiments with UI changes all the time, so we simply thought that Google may have scraped the plans to roll out the new icon designs. Rewind to the release of Android 16 beta 3 The other day, and we now have proof that Google is back at work with the new status line icons.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
Android 15 icons charging
The status line icons for Wi-Fi signal strength, mobile signal strength and battery level we discovered last year.
As we dug through Android 16 Beta 3, we discovered some changes in the new status line icons for Wi-Fi signal strength and battery level. The Wi-Fi signal strength icon is largely unchanged from last year, except that it now shows three segments instead of five.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
The updated Wi-Fi signaling strength status line icon we discovered in Android 16 Beta 3.
However, the battery level icon is significantly different and shows a dynamic color scheme. Instead of a constant white background, the new battery level icon we activated in Android 16 Beta 3 different background colors has depending on the battery status. When the battery is sufficient and not charger, the background color is solid white. When the battery is low and not charger, the background color turns red. Finally, when the unit is charged, the background color turns alive.
The new, more colorful battery level icon that Google tests in Android 16 Beta 3.
Other remarkable changes include a new, bold font for the battery level and a turning orientation for the icon itself. I also noticed that the new battery icon appears only on the lock screen and alert panel, but it can only be a fault.
The current battery level icon in Android 15.
Because these new status line icons are not activated in Android 16 Beta 3, I had to manually activate them for this article. There is no guarantee Google will roll out these new icons, and if they do, they are unlikely to appear in the stable Android 16 release. Instead, they can appear in a quarterly Android 16 release or in next year’s Android 17 update, ideally along with Overhauled notifications and quick setting panel.