For over 5 years now, Pixel customers have had a robust instrument constructed into their Recents menu: the power to pick out textual content and pictures for fast copying, sharing, and extra. With Android 16 QPR3, nonetheless, the pictures aspect of issues is getting a fairly large downgrade, and it’s not precisely clear as to why.
For those who’re unfamiliar, the Choose button in Recents on Pixel first rolled out again within the pre-release days of Android 11. Though Android has had a handful of visible overhauls since 2020, the precise utility of Choose has remained the identical, permitting you to focus on and replica textual content from any software in your Recents menu with out really diving into the app. The identical is true for pictures, which, up till the previous couple of weeks, would ship choices to repeat, share, or save the picture, alongside a fast hyperlink to Google Lens.
Within the above examples, the primary picture is how the function beforehand labored, whereas the second and third pictures are actually what you’ll discover on Pixel after this month’s adjustments.
Whereas textual content copying has seemingly remained unchanged — extra on that briefly — Android 16 QPR3 has introduced an unlucky shift to how Choose works with photographs. As noticed by Android Authority, after Google’s most up-to-date replace, customers not have the power to save lots of pictures straight from this menu. Tapping on a highlighted picture with Choose auto-launches the share display screen, bypassing the power to save lots of or to auto-direct to Lens (copying a picture stays a devoted choice on the share display screen). There’s an argument to be made that Circle to Search has rendered this Lens integration out of date — or, on the very least, pointless — however the identical can’t be stated for shortly saving pictures.
As Android Authority noticed (and as I’ve confirmed on my Pixel 10a), you do nonetheless have a few choices for saving photographs by way of Choose by way of the share menu, together with importing it on to Pictures and and downloading it into Recordsdata by Google, each of that are a little bit clunky however do accomplish the duty with out a problem. However for anybody who’s relied on this function previous to Google’s March replace (or anybody who finds the share menu to be overwhelming), it’s positively one thing I’d qualify as a downgrade.
A fast observe on textual content choice: whereas my Pixel 10a remains to be capable of choose textual content each with and with out first hitting the Choose button by way of a long-press, 9to5‘s Ben Schoon isn’t seeing the identical motion. On his Pixel, textual content wasn’t capable of be highlighted with out first tapping “Choose.” Once more, it’s not one thing I’ve particularly observed on my finish, however one thing to maintain an eye fixed out for as Google continues to tweak this format.
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