Android 16 QPR2 secret: How to turn off your Pixel’s annoying background blur

If you recently updated your Pixel phone to Android 16 QPR2, you’ve probably noticed that there are a lot of new features for you to play with. With improved app icon customization, lock screen widgets, and more, QPR2 is a darn good update.

One of the more interesting changes is actually a reversal of something added in Android 16 QPR1 this past September. As part of the Material 3 Expressive interface added to Pixel phones with that update, one of the bigger UI tweaks was a blur effect in the app drawer and Quick Settings panel. I don’t mind it, but it’s something a lot of Pixel users have wanted Google to get rid of.

Thanks to Google’s latest Android update, you finally can. If you hate the background blur on your Pixel, there’s a new secret setting that lets you fully disable it. Here’s how.

To get started, you first need to ensure your Pixel has the Android 16 QPR2 update. Once you’ve confirmed that it does, all you need to do next is open the Settings app and tap a few buttons. Here are the full steps to follow:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and tap Accessibility.
3. Tap Color & motion.
4. Tap Reduce blur effects.

And that’s it! Once the toggle changes from an X to a check mark, you’ll know that the setting is enabled. You don’t have to restart your phone or wait for these changes to take effect — they happen immediately.

You can see in the screenshots the difference between having the background blur effect on vs. off. When it’s on, the background of the app drawer and Quick Settings has a glassy effect that lets some of your home screen wallpaper (or the app you’re using) peek through a bit. There’s also a blur transition effect whenever you open the app drawer or Quick Settings.

However, once you disable this with the “Reduce blur effects” setting, that all goes away. The background of your app drawer and Quick Settings becomes a solid, more saturated color, and the blur effect when opening either one is gone, too. You’ll also see a solid color for the recent apps background.

The best part is that it matches your phone’s accent colors, so it’s not just a random hue that clashes with everything else. For example, since my primary accent color is blue, that’s the background color I see once the blur effects are off. If your accent color is red, yellow, or something else, that’s what you’ll see.

Even as someone who doesn’t mind the blur effects, I have to admit that disabling them does look really nice. I’ll probably still keep them enabled, but I’m thrilled we now have the option to use them or not.

Which one are you choosing? Blur or no blur?