- Google Pixel phones may soon feature an always-on display that shows a blurred version of your lock screen wallpaper, a new option called ‘ambient AOD’.
- This ‘ambient AOD’ feature is hidden in the Android 16 QPR1 beta update and includes a user toggle to turn the wallpaper display on or off.
- However, we observed screen flickering on current Pixels, suggesting this new AOD feature might be reserved for future devices like the Pixel 10.
Many Android smartphones feature an always-on display (AOD) that allows you to see the date, time, and notifications at a glance. Since the display is a primary source of battery drain on mobile devices, many smartphones restrict AOD content to black and white. Some devices, however, can show your wallpaper on the AOD, personalizing its appearance at the cost of some battery life. Currently, Google Pixel phones do not offer this wallpaper feature on their AOD, but this could change with the next quarterly Android 16 release.
Although Pixel phones have featured an always-on display (AOD) since the Pixel 2’s release in 2017, the ability to show the wallpaper on the AOD has been notably absent for most of that time. Google briefly experimented with this feature for the Pixel 3 in 2018 but didn’t carry the feature forward to later devices. In contrast, OEMs like Samsung and Xiaomi have long offered this functionality, and Apple more recently implemented a similar feature on its iOS platform. Now, it appears Google is set to reintroduce AOD wallpaper support with Android 16 QPR1.