Google just revamped one of Android's most basic tools: the flashlight brightness slider.

The Android Canary build gives Pixel users a chance to experience the most advanced features being added to the platform, long before they get the next Pixel Drop or full Android update. Now, that includes a redesigned UI for a feature that rival smartphone makers, including Samsung and Apple, have offered in their proprietary OS skins for quite some time.

As noted by Android Authority, the legendary flashlight brightness slider has just been upgraded in the latest pre-beta build, marking a step towards an official release in the future.

Users have been waiting too long for a basic feature

Now even the interface looks like a real flashlight

Is anyone really upset that Google "copied" an iOS feature?

Flashlights are one of the many devices that smartphones have replaced , but the flashlight on your phone isn't always as versatile as a real flashlight. Sometimes, it's simply too bright. That's why so many users have asked for the ability to adjust the brightness.

Functionally, the new slider remains the same as when it first launched. Now, instead of a boring horizontal bar, long-pressing the Flashlight icon in the Quick Settings menu opens the Flashlight Intensity dialog with a vertical flashlight-shaped slider. Dragging it up from the bottom widens the arc, making the beam appear larger. While the effect is similar to before, it brings the whole feature more in line with Google's recent Material 3 Expressive interface overhaul.

When will this feature come to Pixel (and other phones)?

Adjustment Panel won't be available in full public beta until at least QPR3, which suggests it'll likely be included in Pixel Feature Drop after March 2026. This makes sense: Android 13 actually added built-in support for the feature, but Google left it up to other developers to implement. There have been a number of ways for Pixel users to take advantage of the feature, but they've all been workarounds.

Android 17 will likely mark the first time that flashlight brightness adjustment is built into the base OS package that all Android devices come with. This would put the stock OS on par with popular manufacturers like Samsung, which has offered multi-level brightness adjustment for nearly a decade (in fact, before it was even called One UI ).

OnePlus' OxygenOS and Oppo's ColorOS, both of which are more unique interfaces than the popular and flexible OneUI, have also allowed users to adjust the flashlight for years. Apple has been the longest to offer this feature, with the long-press adjustment feature dating back to iOS 10 in 2016.

To be clear, not every device will get this feature. It still depends on support from the camera hardware abstraction layer, or HAL, which dictates how each model's components interact with software. At the very least, we know it will be available for Pixel phones with this modern interface. And since Google is essentially using the Pixel as a testing ground for new Android features, it's likely that these features will appear on more smartphones starting next year.

Pixel users can try it out right now by installing Android Canary release 2510 onto their phones, but be careful – since this is a pre-beta build, you'll likely encounter bugs.

Samuel Daniel

Update 21 November 2025