Android’s quick settings panel is designed to make it easy to toggle between features, but some features are easier to toggle than others. For example, you need to tap once to toggle your phone’s flashlight, but you need to tap twice to toggle your Wi-Fi or Bluetooth radio. This wasn’t always the case, as in older Android versions it was just a single tap for Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Fortunately, Next year’s Android 16 update could turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth into one-click toggles again, according to new findings following APK Breakdown. In Android 12, the Quick Settings panel has been redesigned, replacing small toggles with larger round rectangular buttons. . Most tiles are still toggled with a single click, but the old WiFi and Mobile Data tiles have been replaced with an “Internet” tile that opens a panel when tapped. With this change, you can now switch between either radio with just two taps.
These changes were positive for some because the Internet and Bluetooth panels made it easier to switch between networks or Bluetooth devices. However, some users found it annoying that Google made it harder to turn off Wi-Fi, mobile data, and Bluetooth. As sources pointed out, these complaints have even led Google to defend its decision to introduce new Internet tiles. In a blog post.
“Internet” quick settings panel introduced in Android 12. Image credit — Google
That said, Android 16 may have found a solution that will satisfy everyone. In another code breakdown, Google We’re further testing how we’re overhauling Android 16’s notifications and quick settings panels, hinting at changes coming. These findings suggested that the backgrounds of the Internet and Bluetooth tiles were not completely filled, that tapping the icons toggled between the respective radios, and that tapping the rest of the tiles opened the panel.
Testing has confirmed that the Internet and Bluetooth tiles behave this way. Tap the Internet icon to toggle Wi-Fi, and tap the Bluetooth icon to toggle Bluetooth. Tap anywhere else on the Internet or Bluetooth tile to open the respective panel. These changes are a big compromise, providing both one-click toggling and access to expanded panels within a single tile. You have to expand the Internet panel to toggle mobile data, but if you want to shut down mobile data, you can just tap the airplane mode tile instead.
The expected changes in Android 16 seem to strike a good balance between functionality and convenience. I’m interested in how these changes affect the overall user experience on Android devices, and if there are any personal preferences in how the toggles work.
