Android 16 makes your HDR photos shine in screenshots

Most people snap screenshots on their Android phones to show others what’s on their screen, and Android usually handles this well. For a long time, screenshots didn’t need to capture HDR (high dynamic range) because most stuff we viewed was in SDR (standard dynamic range). But with HDR growing more popular—think vivid photos and videos—people want screenshots that keep those stunning details. Good news: Android 16 now lets you take real HDR screenshots!

What’s HDR Anyway?

HDR means high dynamic range. It’s a way to make pictures and videos look more real with brighter bright spots, darker dark areas, and richer colors compared to SDR. It shows more of what your eyes naturally see. To enjoy HDR, your phone or tablet needs an HDR screen that can handle a wide range of colors—beyond the simpler sRGB standard.

While many new Android devices have HDR screens, most content is still SDR. Before Android 16, even if you screenshot HDR stuff on an HDR screen, it saved as SDR. The extra color details got lost in the process, so your screenshot didn’t match what you saw.

How It’s Evolved

In Android 13, Google added full HDR video support and tweaked screenshots to better match the screen. Still, they stayed in SDR, so HDR parts looked duller than they should. Android 14 brought Ultra HDR images, but mixing them with SDR app layouts confused things more.

Screenshots brightened the app’s background but cut off HDR’s best parts, leaving them less impressive. Android 15 QPR1 improved this with a tone-mapping trick, keeping app colors right and HDR highlights intact. It was better, but screenshots were still SDR—not the full HDR experience.

Android 16 Nails It

Now, Android 16 Beta 2 saves screenshots in HDR format. I tested this on my Pixel 7 Pro. After updating, I screenshot an HDR image, and in the Photos app, the screen lit up—HDR highlights popped! Comparing it to an older SDR screenshot, the difference was clear. Android 16 keeps the magic of HDR intact, making your screenshots look just as good as the real thing on HDR screens.