Every year, Google creates a new statue to commemorate each Android release and, for Android 16, it’s a celebration of Material 3 Expressive in the form of a mini merry-go-round.

Since Android dropped its yearly dessert themes, the yearly statues have become a bit less exciting, but they’re still pretty unique. Lately, they’ve been taking the form of slightly more useful objects. Android 13’s “statue” was a swingset. For Android 14, Google went back to those dessert roots with an Upside Down Cake reference, but then returned to 13’s whimsy for Android 15 with “The Bot” on a bench holding a vanilla ice cream cone.

Android 13 swingset

Android 15 bench

This year, Google is again following up with a whimsical, but semi-practical “statue” for Android 16.

A custom merry-go-round – the little version – was constructed with “The Bot” on board and a few other seats around it with Material 3 Expressive UI shapes. While it’s a pretty basic idea, it’s definitely a fun way to ring in the new design language.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Google’s Seang Chua posted a video of the statue build and unveiling, as did Google’s Dieter Bohn.

What a fun day! We’re still buzzing from the Android 16 launch, celebrating with a new statue that puts a spin on the Material 3 Expressive design and celebrates the power of AI. Check out this behind-the-scenes video of our statue. You might even say it’s got layers of… pic.twitter.com/GUgJMuMa7A

— Seang Chau (@seangchau) August 26, 2025

More on Android 16:

Follow Ben: Twitter/X, Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.