Technologies

The Latest Android 16 QPR1 Beta Is Out Now. Here’s How to Get It on Your Pixel

The overall update is minor, but it comes with the latest security updates for your Pixel.

The latest Android 16 QPR1 Beta is available for Pixel owners who’ve signed up to receive the latest releases from Google. Since it’s just a .1 update, it doesn’t bring any new phone features to the table, but a handful of bug fixes, as well as the June Security patch — something the QPR1 2.0 update from earlier this month was missing.

Although Android 16 is now officially available, it lacks the visual overhaul, Material 3 Expressive, that Google showed off during the Android Show this past May. Luckily, Google transitioned its Android Beta Program to Quarterly Platform Releases, and a large chunk of Material 3 Expressive found its way to Pixel devices that installed the first QPR1 update.

Below, we’ll show you what’s new in the latest QPR1 release and how to enroll your supported Pixel device in the Beta program to get these updates moving forward. For more, don’t miss when we expect the Pixel 10 to launch.

What’s new in the latest QPR1 Beta?

The sparse release notes for QPR 2.1 reiterate that there isn’t much to gawk at in this release. The QPR 2 beta added in support for enhanced windowing on connected devices, bringing a desktop-like experience. It’s nowhere near as slick as what Apple is doing on the iPad with iPadOS 26, but it is nonetheless a welcomed addition when you need more space to work with and have a display you can connect your phone to.

Here’s what’s new in the Android 16 QPR1 2.1:

Fix for the «Approve» button in the Device Admin settings being transparent and invisible.
Fix for the lockscreen sound toggle showing as off, but sounds still playing.
Fix for the Android back button intermittently failing to function.
Fix for a launcher crash when swiping up from the bottom.

In addition, and as mentioned before, this release also comes with the latest June security patch.

Android 16 QPR1 has some Material 3 Expressive baked in

The latest QPR1 builds include several pieces of the Material 3 Expressive design overhaul. It’s a fresh take on the OS while still looking like a natural progression of what was there before. It’s easier to find important actions within the OS, and the new design will eventually make its way to apps when developers adopt the new design language. Google has already shown off a few of the apps it plans to update with Material 3 Expressive, including Gmail, Fitbit and Google Photos.

While the public release will include more of Material 3 Expressive, the biggest visual changes are present here. The launcher, notifications, quick settings and lock screen all «pop» like never before.

What Pixel devices can install the Android 16 QPR1 2.1?

In order to install the Android 16 QPR1, you’ll need a compatible Pixel. Here’s the full list of supported devices.

Pixel 6, 6a, and 6 Pro
Pixel 7, 7a, and 7 Pro
Pixel Fold
Pixel Tablet
Pixel 8, 8a, and 8 Pro
Pixel 9, 9a, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, and 9 Pro Fold

How to install the Android 16 QPR1 2.1

Installing the Android 16 QPR1 2.1 build is easy.

If you’re running the last Android 16 QPR1 release, you don’t need to do anything. You should be able to check for a system update and the QPR1 2.1 beta should begin to download.

If you’re new to installing Android 16 on your device, here’s how to get things moving:

Go to the Android Beta site and log in to your Google account.
Click or tap on «View your eligible devices» or just scroll down to the section.
You should see the devices associated with the Google account you’ve logged in with.
Under the device on which you’d like to install the Android 16 update, click or tap the «+ Opt in» button.
Agree to the terms of the beta program and click or tap «Confirm and enroll.»

Once your device is enrolled, you can check to see if the update is waiting for you. It typically doesn’t take long.

On your Pixel, go to your Settings menu.
Tap System.
Tap Software updates.
Tap System update.

From there, the Android 16 QPR1 2.1 build should start downloading to your device. If it continues to say «Your Pixel is up to date,» give it a few more minutes or try restarting your phone, then try again.

Alternatively, you can flash the update to your Pixel.

Want more on Pixel? Don’t miss what we know about Google’s new AI Assistant, Pixel Sense.

Technologies

If You Were ‘Tricked’ Into an Amazon Prime Subscription, You Should Have Been Paid by Today

Amazon is paying $1.5 billion to people who mistakenly subscribed to Prime, and the first round of payments are due today.

Amazon Prime provides a lot of valuable benefits to its members, but the company’s registration practices for its premium subscription from 2019 to 2025 led to many customers accidentally subscribing to a service they didn’t want.

Amazon is now paying the price for that deception — the US Federal Trade Commission levied a massive $2.5 billion settlement on the company for its subscription tactics.

The majority of the settlement — $1.5 billion — has been earmarked to refund eligible subscribers, with the rest serving as a civil penalty. Amazon is also now legally required to provide a clear, obvious option to decline Prime, making it as easy to leave the service as it is to join.

Amazon isn’t admitting to shady behavior. «Amazon and our executives have always followed the law, and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers,» Mark Blafkin, Amazon senior manager, said in a statement. «We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership, and to offer substantial value for our many millions of loyal Prime members around the world.»

The online retail giant started sending out payments to eligible people in November and was supposed to conclude its initial automatic payments today, Dec. 24. Read on to learn more about Amazon’s settlement and what to do if you think you’re eligible for compensation but didn’t receive a payment.

Why did the FTC fine Amazon?

The FTC filed suit against Amazon, accusing the company of using «dark patterns» to nudge people into Prime subscriptions and then making it too hard to cancel. The FTC maintained Amazon was in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act.

«Specifically, Amazon used manipulative, coercive or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions,» the FTC complaint stated.

Who’s eligible for Amazon’s payout?

Amazon’s legal settlement is limited to customers who enrolled in Amazon Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025. It’s also restricted to customers who subscribed to Prime using a «challenged enrollment flow» or who enrolled in Prime through any method but were unsuccessful in canceling their memberships.

The FTC called out specific enrollment pages, including Prime Video enrollment, the Universal Prime Decision page, the Shipping Option Select page and the Single Page Checkout. To qualify for a payout, claimants must also not have used more than 10 Amazon Prime benefits in any 12-month period.

Customers who signed up via those challenged processes and did not use more than three Prime benefits within one year will be paid automatically by Amazon within 90 days. Other eligible Amazon customers will need to file a claim, and Amazon is required to send notices to those people within 30 days of making its automatic payments.

If you are eligible for the automatic payment, you should have received an email from Amazon by today explaining how to claim the money. You can be paid via PayPal or Venmo. If you prefer a paper check, don’t accept the digital payment. The FTC says Amazon will mail you a check that you must cash within 60 days.

How big will the Amazon payments be?

Payouts to eligible Amazon claimants will be limited to a maximum of $51. That amount could be reduced depending on the number of Amazon Prime benefits you used while subscribed to the service. Those benefits include free two-day shipping, watching shows or movies on Prime Video or Whole Foods grocery discounts.

Customers who qualify for the payments should have received them from Nov. 12 to Dec. 24, 2025.If you are eligible for compensation from Amazon but didn’t receive a payout, you’ll need to file a claim after Amazon starts the claim process. The FTC says it will update its Amazon settlement site once that process has begun.

Customers who did not use a challenged sign-up process but instead were unable to cancel their Prime memberships will also need to file claims for payment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 25, #458

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 25, No. 458.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has a real mix of categories, including one that’s all about a certain famous athlete. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Swing away!

Green group hint: What’s that on your bat?

Blue group hint: Catch the football.

Purple group hint: Lake Placid or Lillehammer.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Baseball bat materials.

Green group: Associated with George Brett.

Blue group: NFL rookie WRs.

Purple group: Olympic ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is baseball bat materials. The four answers are aluminum, ash, birch and maple.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with George Brett. The four answers are 5, pine tar, Royals and third base.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL rookie WRs. The four answers are Burden, Egbuka, Golden and McMillan.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Olympic ____. The four answers are Games, rings, torch and village.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Christmas Eve Gaming Crushed as Steam Goes Offline

Services related to the popular game hub seem to slowly be returning as of Wednesday afternoon.

Your Christmas Eve gaming session might not go as planned. Online gaming hub Steam went down on Wednesday. As of about 1:30 pm PT, the Steam store page was once again accessible, so services seemed to be coming back online.

The Steam outage appeared to begin mid-afternoon ET, according to Downdetector, which monitors site outages. (Disclosure: Downdetector is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

A representative for Steam did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As of Wednesday noon PT, Steam’s official X and Bluesky accounts hadn’t posted anything about the outage.

Gamers certainly noticed. «Steam down, Steam down!!!» wrote one Bluesky user.

Others commented on the bad timing just as gamers were enjoying time off or receiving gaming gifts. «‘You got a gift on Steam!’ oh cool ‘Steam is down’ oh cool,» wrote another Bluesky user.