With Pixel 10 pre-orders beginning to reach customers earlier this week, customers are just about getting used to Google’s latest flagship smartphone. While there are numerous additions to the new smartphone lineup (and some bugs), there’s also a revamped ringtone and notification sounds selector that may have largely gone unnoticed.
The redesigned ringtone selector, accessible from Settings > Sound & vibration > Phone ringtone, incorporates Material 3 Expressive elements in abundance. Now, owners of older Pixel smartphones can try it, thanks to an updated version of Pixel Sounds.
These design changes are part of version 3.3 of the Pixel Sounds app, which was released alongside the Pixel 10 series. The APK for the Pixel-exclusive app is now available to pick up from the ever-reliable APKMirror. All you need is a Pixel smartphone running Android 16 to experience this revamped Pixel Sounds app (via Android Authority).
A fresh coat of paint
Old Pixel Sounds design (images 1 and 2); Updated Pixel Sounds app with Material 3 Expressive elements (images 3 and 4)
Among the changes is the reordering of the ringtone folders/collections (My Sounds, Pixel Sounds, Sound Matters, etc), which are now available in a grid rather than a list. This makes better use of the available real estate, though you will still need to scroll to access the last folder in the grid.
Ringtones are still displayed in a list view inside these folders, though, with each tune placed in a container. Tapping a ringtone converts it into a pill, which is a highlight of the Material 3 Expressive design language. If you’re previewing a ringtone from the list, the pill/container also displays a waveform, as shown in the image above.
Returning to the main page without saving the previewed ringtone displays the name of the tune at the top with the words “Unsaved changes” highlighted in red.
Swiping back from here activates a dialog that gives you the option to “Keep editing” or “Discard” the previewed ringtone. The same UI changes and behaviors are also present for notification sounds, accessible from Settings > Sound & vibration > Default notification sound.
Barring these visual changes to the positioning of ringtones and notification sounds, there isn’t a lot else you get with this updated version of the Pixel Sound app. However, if you’ve got your hands on the Pixel 10, you will find new tunes on the flagship, as we learned back in June.
