New theme packs for your Pixel phone are coming soon, but dont hold your breath on AI icons

For years now, customization has been a key focus for Android. While Android gives you granular controls over how each and every aspect of the phone looks, Google recently also added the option to apply themes to your Pixels using a single tap. That includes changing everything from the wallpaper, lock screen, audio, clock styles, accent colors, icon themes, and more. Today, we’re learning two key updates for theme packs on Pixel devices.

As part of the November Pixel Drop, Google added a new option to apply system-wide themes using theme packs. The first theme pack it released was to promote the theatrical release of Wicked: For Good, featuring Ariana Grande. Those, sadly, are going away.

As part of this release, Google brought in three new theme packs that users could download and apply to their Pixel devices. However, a few months after release, Google is now pulling these themes, and they’re no longer available for download. If you downloaded them earlier, you’ll continue to have them.

If you missed downloading these themes earlier, you’ll be glad to know you’ll have access to new ones soon. Although the Wicked themes are no longer available, the theme pack section says new themes are coming soon. Unfortunately, there’s no information on when these new themes arrive.

In addition, we’ve identified information on themed icons in Android. While themed icons have been available on Android for some time, some developers have not implemented support, so their app icons appear the same whether the feature is enabled or disabled. To address this, Google updated its Play Store policies last August, requiring developers to add options to modify their app icons using themes. While it did not directly require developers, the move was ultimately aimed at ensuring that every icon corresponds to your current theme.

Another solution to the problem is something we learned about in July last year. As previously noted, Google could allow users to create themed icons using AI. The feature isn’t live yet, but we’ve identified the following code reference that suggests it may require a specific Android version to function:

While it’s not immediately clear what the “C” implies here, there’s a high chance that it means CinnamonBun, which is the sugary codename for Android 17. If that’s true, it may indicate that the AI icons require at least Android 17 to function.

We still don’t know exactly how AI icons could work, aside from guessing they might use generative AI to create icons for apps whose icons otherwise look dull or unappealing when themed. We’ll be sure to share details once we spot anything.