The expressive update of the Pixel equipment 3 corrects my biggest Bugbear

It was to come, but Google finally brought its expressive overhaul of equipment 3 to Pixel phones running Android 16 earlier this month. This style makes a daring text, more important bass and new animations.

I really like the more customizable quick settings menu, allowing you to change the size of quick adjustment tiles. However, my favorite change must be the revised behavior of Bluetooth tiles.

You can again switch Bluetooth with a single tap

The redesigned Bluetooth tile, as part of the expressive revision of material 3, now allows me to switch Bluetooth connectivity with a single tap. It deals with a black bane that I had with recent Android versions, and comes after spotting this potential change a year ago.

Before the version of Android 14 in 2023, Google simply allowed you to simply press the Bluetooth tile to activate or deactivate Bluetooth connectivity. Meanwhile, long pressure would take you to the Bluetooth section of the settings menu on your phone. So far, so good. Then Android 14 arrived.

To my Dam, Android 14 changed the behavior of the Bluetooth tile. The tapping of the tile is no longer based on Bluetooth connectivity. Instead, it opened a contextual menu containing the actual connectivity switch and a list of recently paved devices. In other words, you needed two taps to switch Bluetooth.

It does not seem to be a big problem, and it is not the end of the world, but it always bored me after the release of Android 14. It was particularly annoying if you are like me and that you have several devices. So, if I want to connect my headphones to a tablet or a second phone while making chores, I will have to press twice to deactivate Bluetooth on my main phone. Do you want to play Steam Deck after supper? Well, I have to type twice to deactivate Bluetooth connectivity on all the phones that have activated it. Yes, multi-point connectivity exists, but I will not buy a pair of new headphones when my old ones work well.

Fortunately, the expressive update of Android 16 effectively restores the switch to a blow for Bluetooth. All you have to do is press the Bluetooth tile to activate quickly or deactivate connectivity. Meanwhile, tile maintenance results from this now familiar context menu. If you have a larger Bluetooth tile (as we see in the second screen capture above), you can specifically press the Bluetooth icon to switch connectivity, while pressing the area outside of the invoke the context menu.

In a neat touch, maintaining all part of the large tile takes you to Connected devices Section of your settings menu for even more connectivity options. I also like to see the name and percentage of battery of the paired accessory in the tile. On the other hand, the Android skins generally display the accessory name but display its battery level in the status bar (if they show it at all).

I am really happy to see this change, because it already has a less boring experience when I juggle Bluetooth headphones on various devices. Now my next hope is that Google divides internet tiles and gives us separate Wi-Fi and mobile data. But I could be a minority with this request.