Android’s app installer finally gets a fresh new look (Here’s What Changed)

Google has recently worked hard to refresh the entire look and feel of the Android operating system, bringing in a modern design style often referred to as “Material 3 Expressive.” They updated almost every screen you use, from the list of notifications that drop down to the main Settings menu.

However, during this big makeover, they missed a small but important piece: the “Package Installer.” This is the window that pops up whenever you try to install an application from a source other than the official Google Play Store, a process many people call “sideloading.”

Now, with the newest software release, Android 16 QPR2, Google has finally given the Package Installer the update it needed to match the rest of the phone’s system. When a developer named Rob Wainwright received this latest update, they noticed the screens that appear during an app installation look much cleaner.

The biggest change is how the information is laid out. Previously, the app’s name and its picture were shown right at the top of the box. In the new design, Google has moved this information down to the center. This slight shift helps draw your attention to the most important part of the screen: the action you are taking, such as the question, “Install this app?” or the message, “Installing…” This makes the purpose of the screen clearer right away.

The buttons used to finish or cancel the installation are also much improved. The old screen used plain text buttons that relied only on color to show you could click them. The new design uses clear, shaped buttons. Key actions, like “Install” or “Open,” now use solid, filled-in buttons, while secondary options, like “Cancel” or “Done,” use buttons that look slightly raised. This change makes it much easier for you to quickly see and choose the main action. Even the line that shows the installation progress is updated with a newer, smoother design.

One detail that stands out is that the separate screen where the system asks you to give an app permission to install other apps didn’t get this full design update and still looks like the old version. This might simply be a small detail Google overlooked.

It is important to know that you will need a full operating system update—the Android 16 QPR2 release—to see these changes. This is because the Package Installer is a core part of the system that cannot be updated through a standard Google Play System Update, unlike some other parts of Android.