Key Highlights –
- Google anticipated Material 3 Expressive is coming to Pixel 6 and newer devices including Pixel Tablet.
- Major revamp will be visible with new customizations for lock & call screens, Quick settings and more.
- Google is also bringing Adaptive Audio and Loud Noise Protection to Pixel Buds Pro 2 users.
California tech giant, Google has announced the September 2025 Pixel Drop, bringing fresh, new features to eligible devices. Spearheading the update is the launch of Material 3 Expressive, which first made its debut with the launch of Pixel 10 series on August 20, 2025. However, that’s not all Google has in this update.
Starting Wednesday, Google is also adding Pixel to the LE Audio Auracast supported devices list. The feature was earlier limited to Samsung Galaxy phones and Xiaomi devices. This means more users would now be able to listen to broadcasts at Auracast-enabled venues, whether it’s to stay informed at the airport, explore self-guided audio tours at museums or listen to TV or music channels at the gym.
Material 3 Expressive – What’s New In A Nutshell
Coming back to the colourful UI revamp, the Material 3 Expressive update is the biggest design makeover in Android in quite sometime now. The theme was originally introduced in May earlier this year, with new physics based animations, poppy colours, background blur effects and more. Here’s a quick rundown of all that’s new you can check out –
Lock Screen : The lock screen has seen new changes starting with the bold font and weather update now visible right next to the clock instead of below it. Another new change you can see is the new redesigned lock-screen notifications with bigger app icons, increasing the visibility. From within the settings you can now choose if you want only the icons visible, or the notification message and even skip them if you’ve seen it once! Another important change is the new animation when you transition from opening the lock-screen and get to the home screen.
Wallpaper and Style: The redesign can also be seen in the Wallpaper & Style app, with new Cut Out feature as you could see in the reference image above. Otherwise, a few useful UI tweaks such as Clock resizing slider, swiping back and forth to navigate between lock screen and home screen for instance.
Status Bar: You can now see the consistent bold font used along with new battery and WiFi icons. Additionally, the mobile data indicator has shifted to the left of the WiFi icon, and the network signal bar is now placed below the first one.
Background Blur: Google has ditched the solid white gradient while pulling down notifications bar or going all the way to quick settings. This align with the “expressiveness” of the theme, and skips the opaque background.
Volume Panel and Media Output: Instead of the bubbly design, the volume panel has thinner sliders for better control of output levels.
Quick Settings Redesigned: The Quick Settings panel get a major overhaul, as the tiles are now resizable. Users can now shrink them from their default 2×1 size to a more compact 1×1 as they require. Following the Volume Panel, the brightness slider too has ditched the bubbly design.
What Else Is New In The Update?
Google is also rolling out new features to the Pixel Buds Pro 2, which was unveiled during the Made by Google event last month. A major highlight in this is the Adaptive Audio, a feature that automatically adjusts volume based on the sounds in your environment, or turns reduces loud noises to protect your hearing. The update adds background noise reduction as well as the ability to accept or ignore calls by nodding or shaking your head.
For Pixel watch users, Google Maps walking and biking navigation feature will soon roll out to their smartwatches. This would support hands-free navigation, giving the users option to skip looking for your phone or tap the watch every time, whenever Maps is giving directions.
