Android 16 to Introduce Full HDR Screenshots for Stunning Visuals

Android 16 is set to bring a major upgrade to screenshots by introducing full HDR support. This enhancement, discovered in the latest Beta 2 release, will allow users to capture screenshots with richer colors, deeper contrast, and greater detail provided their device supports HDR.

A screenshot is a powerful tool available on Android devices. It is a tool that allows you to capture the current screen content on your phone as it happens. If you want to remember something significant but don’t want to write it down, this is a great tool to have.

With the release of Android 16, it appears that Google is adding a new HDR spin to the screenshot function. In the past, this function was compatible with the SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) format. However, HDR support might be added in the next big update.

According to Mishaal Rahman of Android Authority, Google is planning to include support for high dynamic range (HDR) screenshots in the upcoming Android version. High Dynamic Range (HDR) images provide more color and brightness variation than Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) images. It boasts improved picture realism, including more subtle tones, deeper shadows, and finer details.

Google unveiled Ultra HDR with Android 14 but failed miserably when applied to screenshots. The business came up with a method to quickly encode HDR photos and SDR UI. The captured picture was used to show the same dull results as before because SDR stayed in the frame.

With Android 15, a tone mapping mechanism for screenshots becomes obvious, giving the first hint of high dynamic range screenshots. It can record HDR effects while keeping the SDR user interface of the surrounding video intact. Typically, these photographs are kept in SDR format, but that might change with Android 16.

According to the inputs, the Android 16 Beta 2 smartphones preserve screenshots in HDR format. Even the Google Photos app had some sample shots that Mishaal provided. The effects will only be visible on phones that support high dynamic range (HDR).