Pixel 9 gets thicker status bar on Android 15 QPR1 Beta 3

The Pixel 9 Pro has a large front-facing camera cutout and Android 15 QPR1 Beta 3 makes the status bar taller to account for that.

At launch, there were very few pixels from the physical end of the selfie camera cutout and the bottom of the status bar. If the status bar wasn’t black, you’d definitely notice this. YouTube’s Ambient Mode in the video player highlighted this lack of clearance, with the camera almost escaping. (In the cover image above, you see the Pixel 9 Pro vs. Pixel 8.)

With Android 15 QPR1 Beta 3, Google has increased the height on the status bar everywhere. In the first example below, you see how everything on the Pixel Launcher homescreen moves down.

Beta 2 vs. Beta 3

Meanwhile, things look much better when watching YouTube. We’re seeing this status bar change on our Pixel 9 and 9 Pro XL.

Android 15 vs. QPR1 Beta 3

More on Android 15:

• Here’s everything new in Android 15 QPR1 Beta 3 [Gallery]
• Has your Pixel battery life improved after updating to Android 15? [Poll]
• Google ‘won’t fix’ duplicate Material You colors from Android 15 and Android 14