Google tests useful Android 16 feature that alerts you to time zone changes
Google has already released the first Android 16 beta which I faithfully installed on my Pixel 6 Pro. The handset, which should have lost Android support four months ago, still has another year to go since the Pixel 6 line will be receiving Android 17 in 2026. Speaking of Android 16, strings of code were discovered in Android 16 Beta 1 for a feature that appears designed to alert you if your device has changed time zones.
When the feature does appear (it has yet to show up in Android 16 beta 1), you'll be able to opt-in by going to Settings > System > Date & time. The description of this feature listed in the menu under Time Zone Change reads, "Receive a notification when your time zone is automatically updated."
The aforementioned strings of code that were discovered in Android 16 beta 1 show that the notification will say something along the lines of "Your time zone changed," and "You're now in." As a result, not only will the notification alert you that you've moved into an area in a different time zone, but you'll also be told what the name of the new time zone is. Are you now in the Eastern Time Zone or did you stay in the Central Time Zone? This feature will let you know.
Knowing that your phone is displaying the time belonging to a different time zone, and knowing exactly what that new time zone is can help users keep appointments with others. I'm not sure that most of us change the time zone that we are physically in often enough to make this a must-have feature. On the other hand, all it takes is one important business meeting you missed because you forgot that the time zone changed to understand how important and useful this feature can be.
This is what the Date & time menu will look like when the time zone change notification feature is available. | Image credit-Android Authority
Will we see this new time zone change notification tool show up in Android 16? The stable version of the next Android build is expected to be released during the second quarter which means that it won't be too long before we know whether Google plans on including this with Android 16 or if this feature isn't expected to be ready until Android 17 is pushed out in 2026.
If you do plan on running the Android 16 beta until the stable version is disseminated, check the Date & Time settings menu after each beta release to see whether the feature has been added. If we see it, we will update this story.
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