What you need to know
- Google effectively confirmed that we can expect Android 16 ahead of schedule in an October 2024 post on the Android Developers Blog.
- Now, a report claims to reveal the exact date that Android 16 will reach AOSP.
- The rumored timeline for Android 16's initial rollout is two to three months earlier than expected, per the report.
Google shook things up this year by releasing the Pixel 9 series without the latest version of Android. Of course, Android 15 is now here, but the rollout was anything but typical. Vivo was the first smartphone brand to release a public operating system based on Android 15, using the version of the OS that's part of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). So, it's worth wondering: when will we see Android 16?
According to a report from Android Headlines, the next major Android update could hit our favorite phones earlier than ever. The site believes Android 16 will be pushed to the AOSP beginning June 3, 2025. Additionally, the report claims that the OTA update for Android 16 will reach Pixel phones on the exact same day. If this timeline proves to be accurate, it would be months ahead of the pace of Android 15's rollout.
Google broke tradition by launching a new series of phones without a new version of Android, but this rumored rollout schedule would eliminate that problem. The company could launch a new set of Pixel devices in August and have those devices run the latest version of Android. By launching Android 16 in June, it would be more than ready for primetime when the Pixel 10 series is expected to debut in August.
The quicker pace of Android 16's rollout benefits other Android OEMs, not just Google. Think of Samsung, a company that launched the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 with Android 14 and won't be updating them to Android 15 until next year. If Google delivers Android 16 to AOSP earlier in the summer, it could be ready for Samsung's July releases or the fall, at the very least.
The company explained as much at the end of last month in a post on the Android Developers Blog. "Going forward, Android will have more frequent SDK releases with two releases planned in 2025 with new developer APIs," Google said. "These releases will help to drive faster innovation in apps and devices, with higher stability and polish for users and developers."
Slow adoption of new OS versions by partner OEMs, like Motorola and Samsung, is a significant problem facing the Android platform in 2024. By sending future versions of Android to the AOSP sooner, Google hopes to solve it.
