Google is supercharging screenshot editing on your Pixel with Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1

Google has rolled out a more advanced screenshot editing experience on Pixel phones running Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1. Now, when you edit a screenshot, it opens directly in the Pixel Studio app, which offers a wider range of editing tools compared to the standard screenshot editor in Google Photos, including AI-powered editing.

The feature was first spotted by Telegram user Omar Tosca, who also shared a demo video of how it works with us (see above). Once you capture a screenshot, tapping the edit button launches Pixel Studio instead of the usual editor. From there, you can crop the image, highlight specific areas, or even select a portion of the screenshot for AI-assisted edits. Once an area in the screenshot is selected, you can simply describe the change you want, and the AI applies it. In Tosca’s video, for example, asking the AI to change colors worked instantly. However, the AI erased all the text from the chat screenshot and turned it into a random block of colors. The option currently appears with a “preview” label, which might explain why it worked the way it did.

Beyond AI editing, Pixel Studio also lets you add captions to your screenshots, draw with a pen, create stickers, highlight content using a resizable highlighter, and more.

It’s worth noting that you’ll need version 2.0.001.793728176.12-release of the Pixel Studio app for this to work. When we tested it on Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1 with an older Pixel Studio version, screenshots defaulted to the standard editor instead of Pixel Studio. It’s also worth noting that the video above was recorded on a Pixel 9 Pro running the new QPR.