Pixel Drop: Material 3 Expressive lands on Pixel 6 and Pixel Tablet
Google’s monthly Pixel Drop has arrived for the month of September, bringing bug fixes, improvements, and some new features to all Pixel devices running Android 16.
A highlight of the latest feature drop is that Google’s Material 3 Expressive design language is now rolling out to Pixel 6 (and later models) and the Pixel Tablet. It’s already available on the company’s newest Pixel 10 series and Pixel 10 Pro Fold that launched earlier this month.
The new design language was used to build features like Live Effects to decorate your lock screen wallpaper with shapes and weather effects. Then there are iPhone-like Calling Cards to customize the look and feel of contact screens for phone calls.
Google markets Material 3 Expressive as its biggest design update in years, bringing “a system of more natural, springy animations meant to bring a moment of delight to everyday routines.” For instance, when you drag a notification to dismiss it, other notifications next to it will subtly respond to it.
A small but useful feature coming to Google Maps is that you can simply start walking or biking navigation, and Google Maps will automatically show up on your smartwatch to save some effort.
Google will also bring new features for the Pixel Buds Pro 2. The wireless earbuds will gain support for Adaptive Audio and Loud Noise Protection later this month.
The search giant recently launched its budget wireless earbuds and said at the time that Pixel Buds Pro 2 will get support for Gemini Live. You can also use head gestures, such as nodding or shaking your head, while wearing the Pixel Buds Pro 2 to pick up an incoming call or dismiss replying to a text.
Pixel Drop for September 2025 also fixes several issues, including those related to Battery Health display, call audio quality in certain conditions, Bluetooth performance, and screen turning black during transitions from a webpage in the in-app browser. You can check out the entire changelog in Google’s forum post.
These new features have started rolling out to compatible Pixel devices today. The rollout will continue over the next few weeks, depending on the device and carrier. That said, Google has announced four more features for Android devices in a separate update.
Source: https://www.neowin.net/news/pixel-drop-material-3-expressive-lands-on-pixel-6-and-pixel-tablet/