My Android 16 home screen is officially a vibe, thanks to the new system themes

I have always been a massive One UI believer, since to me, One UI Home has always been a treat.

It wasn't until I picked up a Google Pixel 8 that I realized how a more minimalist Android experience, paired with a powerful theming engine, can make the phone feel so personal.

Every time I unlock the screen, my eyes are immediately drawn to the visuals.

Tapping around on my phone has also been a wonderful experience, which is why I can see others arguing that the best Pixel phones are top-tier for their polish and consistency.

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Posts By  Stephen Radochia

Material You has evolved a lot

Custom icons and colors add extra personalization

I didn't realize how boring uniform UI shapes can be. Some icons look too plain and rounded, and just lack personality.

Though there was always the option to buy icon packs and usually install them via third-party launchers, I generally prefer to stick with the default one.

My Pixel 8 on Android 16 gave me the best of both worlds. New icon shapes but with native software support, thanks to Material 3 Expressive.

Material 3 Expressive, based on Material You (more of an evolution), includes a library of shapes; I can choose between star-shaped icons, circles, and even asymmetric designs.

The versatility is really fun, and I found myself drawn to ones that looked cloudy and round.

Though I can see others being a bit safer with the UI and picking the rounded icons.

I sometimes opted for this because when I take screenshots of my phone, I don't want the UI to look too chaotic or distracting, as it can divert attention from a guide or tutorial.

Next up were the color palettes. This is where I was really impressed with the visuals. I always thought Pixel phones opted for more muted colors, which I felt was a bit boring.

But I am not someone who likes extremely bright colors either. I like a nice contrast that blends well.

On the Wallpaper & style settings screen, you can select the Color contrast level. If you need it higher, choose Medium or High, and toggle on Outline text to add a black or white background around text to make it easier to see.

You can choose a range of palettes with lighter themes matched with gradients, or ones that start really dark and get progressively lighter.

Personally, I prefer darker backgrounds with more colorful icons; it's just more aesthetically pleasing to me.

I can also see the appeal of using some tinted pastel colors and matching them with darker UI elements, which I spent some time doing.

But what I like about the colors is that I can fine-tune them. If, for example, I wanted a less "gray" effect on my wallpaper, I could add a completely different color without it looking out of place.

Plus, I prefer darker purples and lilacs, but if I wanted to add green or blue, the engine would do so without making it look out of place.

It almost made me feel like an artist again without worrying about damaging my color combinations.

That's because the Material You theming has always ensured that colors blend well with the Monet Engine.

But, as I have said before, I was worried about my home screen feeling less alive — I've seen Pixel devices with Material You before, and I didn't love it. I know this is integrated on Samsung, and I haven't been able to find a combination I "vibed" with on there.

But so far, it's been really fun, and I didn't feel too pressured to download too many custom themes to make the colors work.

I can apply palette changes to any wallpaper I have (ironically, I also love the default one, since it keeps the phone's minimalist feel), or add weather effects to make it more animated.

Experimenting more with Material 3 Expressive

I wasted a few good hours customizing my home and lock screen

While this was primarily a tool introduced for developers last year, as a consumer, I was pretty excited to see it in action now that it's baked into Android 16.

I already had fun with the built-in Material You engine, but I found that Material 3 Expressive takes it a step further. It does a good job of matching your mood and can even add more personality to an app's animations.

And that's where the Pixel phone hits a home run for me compared to every other Android device I own — the tactile feel and animations are superior to everything else — just the responsiveness of tapping tiles and expanding my quick settings was a welcome touch.

The extra typography options are cool, but to be honest, I don't actually care for them as much — I like mine to be less curvy and not so bold.

I did experiment with a few for my Always On Display, but I ended up picking something much less adventurous.

Checking out the Material 3 Expressive options was where I had the most fun, but noticing the subtle differences in UI animation is what truly hooked me.

If you reduce or remove your animations, you won't notice any effects. You will want to turn them back on by using Developer Options, then set the Animator duration scale to 0.5x.

Unfortunately, seeing these animations in action all relies on app developers integrating them naturally. And if you want to get a feel for it, you do need to download apps that support Jetpack Compose, the newest Android UI toolkit, which includes Material 3 Expressive animations by default.

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But of course, Google apps already support this, and if you're a Pixel user, it should be pretty easy to simply log in to the Google Play Store or Gmail to see this — and soon, Android Auto.

But if you're not in love with Google apps, other apps like X, Reddit, and Spotify also support this when interacting with the system UI.

As a result, you should see a lot of neat effects like bouncing and stretching, while you're scrolling and interacting with the UI.

Make your Android phone more you

After owning a few phones at the same time, I realized how important it is for your phone to still feel uniquely yours.

As a primary Samsung user, I was surprised by how long it took me to get into the nitty-gritty of using Good Lock to add more options for my home screen.

For example, I used to hate adding widgets; they looked too blocky and distracting on the wallpaper, and I found that a cluttered or busy-looking home screen deterred me from using it. It took me a while to find a look that I loved.

That's why I have been really enjoying the Pixel UI more; I can still make it colorful while staying minimalistic.

And now, with Material 3 Expressive in the mix, adding more options like weather effects, punchier icon coloring, and asymmetrical shapes, coupled with some simple animations, it elevates my overall mood when using it.