Android 16 could bring back this old but handy Quick Settings feature

Summary

• As part of an upcoming Quick Settings revamp, Google could change how the Internet and Bluetooth tiles behave.
• The behavior resembles how the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth tiles worked in the Android Lollipop era.
• Google may not roll out the redesigned Quick Settings panel with Android 16 as there's a lot of work left.

Google has consistently tweaked Android’s Quick Settings panel with nearly every OS release, and at this point, it feels like this has become a tradition. All signs point to Google continuing that trend and revamping the Quick Settings panel again with Android 16 later this year. As part of this, Google could change how two of the most commonly used Quick Settings tiles behave, reverting to a behavior last seen in Android 8.1 Oreo.

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According to an Android Authority report, Google will tweak the behavior of the Internet and Bluetooth tiles in Android 16. In the Android Lollipop to Oreo era, tapping the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth tile expanded it within the Quick Settings panel, showing nearby Wi-Fi networks or available Bluetooth devices. Google apparently plans to return to this behavior.

Currently, in Android 15, tapping the Internet or Bluetooth tile brings up another pop-up with all the details.

After enabling the new Quick Settings "detailed view" in Android 16 Beta 1 following a bit of tinkering, Android expert Mishaal Rahman noticed that tapping the Internet or Bluetooth tile expands the Quick Settings panel to display relevant information, replacing the previous pop-up approach.

Source: Android Authority

Rahman notes that there's a possibility that Google will not roll out the redesigned Quick Settings panel with Android 16. It is still in the early stages of developing this change, and there's a lot of broken stuff, including the inability to swipe between notifications and the Quick Settings panel and contrast issues in light mode.

Google is planning big changes to the Quick Settings panel

With Android 16 launching earlier than usual this year — arriving in Q2 — Google may not have enough time to complete the redesign and fix all the bugs. As a result, the revamped Quick Settings could be delayed to a future Android 16 Feature Drop or even pushed to Android 17 and beyond.

Whenever the changes arrive, though, it should make the Quick Settings panel much more customizable. This will include a new layout alongside the ability to resize each tile individually. You will be able to shrink each tile to 1x1 — smaller than the current 2x1 layout, allowing the Quick Settings panel to accommodate up to 16 tiles on a page.