Latest Google Pixel update makes it harder to select images from the Recents menu

For over five years now, Pixel users have had a powerful tool built into their Recents menu: the ability to select text and images for quick copying, sharing, and more. With Android 16 QPR3, however, the images side of things is getting a pretty massive downgrade, and it’s not exactly clear as to why.

If you’re unfamiliar, the Select button in Recents on Pixel first rolled out back in the pre-release days of Android 11. Although Android has had a handful of visual overhauls since 2020, the actual utility of Select has remained the same, allowing you to highlight and copy text from any application in your Recents menu without actually diving into the app. The same is true for images, which, up until the past couple of weeks, would deliver options to copy, share, or save the image, alongside a quick link to Google Lens.

In the above examples, the first image is how the feature previously worked, while the second and third images are now what you’ll find on Pixel after this month’s changes.

While text copying has seemingly remained unchanged — more on that briefly — Android 16 QPR3 has brought an unfortunate shift to how Select works with photos. As spotted by Android Authority, after Google’s most recent update, users no longer have the ability to save images directly from this menu. Tapping on a highlighted image with Select auto-launches the share screen, bypassing the ability to save or to auto-direct to Lens (copying an image remains a dedicated option on the share screen). There’s an argument to be made that Circle to Search has rendered this Lens integration obsolete — or, at the very least, unnecessary — but the same can’t be said for quickly saving images.

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As Android Authority observed (and as I’ve confirmed on my Pixel 10a), you do still have a couple of options for saving photos through Select via the share menu, including uploading it directly to Photos and and downloading it into Files by Google, both of which are a little clunky but do accomplish the task without an issue. But for anyone who’s relied on this feature prior to Google’s March update (or anyone who finds the share menu to be overwhelming), it’s definitely something I’d qualify as a downgrade.

A quick note on text selection: while my Pixel 10a is still able to select text both with and without first hitting the Select button via a long-press, 9to5‘s Ben Schoon isn’t seeing the same action. On his Pixel, text wasn’t able to be highlighted without first tapping “Select.” Again, it’s not something I’ve specifically noticed on my end, but something to keep an eye out for as Google continues to tweak this layout.