With version 16 of the OS, we'll finally get subtle blurs and background shading. When you pull down the Notification Shade, instead of seeing a flat background, you'll get a subtle background blur and shading to give the UI more depth and movement.

Beyond smartphones, Google is also extending its design changes to Wear OS, its smartwatch operating system, and expanding the reach of its Gemini artificial intelligence system to more platforms. Those include watches and vehicles that run either Android Auto or are part of the Cars with Google program.

This new Google Android update stops smartphone users from doing three things — here’s what they are and why it matters.