Android 15 isn't available on all phones yet – although it will be available on Pixel phones very soon – but we're already hearing about Android 16 and, in particular, a big change it could bring to notifications and quick settings screens.
Mishaal Rahman, writing for Android Authority, dug into the latest Android 15 QPR beta and managed to enable a new version of these screens, which they say will be rolled out as part of Android 16.
If you currently own a Pixel handset, swiping down from the top of the screen will reveal all your notifications along with four quick settings tiles. This dropdown menu also fully covers all apps running below it.
If you want to access the rest of the Quick Settings tiles, you'll need to swipe down a second time.
But with this new version that Rahman found, swiping down with one finger brings up the notification panel again, but this time it doesn't show quick settings and the drop-down menu only covers the top half of your phone's screen, so you still can see what app you are running underneath.
Instead, to access the quick settings panel, swipe with two fingers, then swipe left or right to access more quick settings tiles.
Keep looking
You can see what it all looks like in the video above. However, keep in mind that this is an unfinished version of the feature that does not handle light mode well, for example, as this means that the white text is no longer visible. So if this change is introduced, it will likely be in a more sophisticated form.
In any case, the gist is that accessing Quick Settings no longer requires two swipes, but rather a two-finger swipe. Whether this is better or worse is somewhat subjective, but it could prove quite controversial, with Rahman, for example, describing the change as “annoying”.
A pixel specific change
It also remains to be seen whether this change will be implemented at all, because while Google is clearly experimenting with it, that doesn't mean the company will decide to do so.
If that's the case, the most likely launch date is Android 16, which isn't expected to be ready for another year or so, although it's always possible the change comes as part of a smaller software update in the meantime.
Oh, and if you don't have a Pixel phone, you probably won't get this change anyway, as most other manufacturers make their own adjustments to the notification and quick settings screens anyway.