Google has just confirmed speculation that Android 16 will indeed roll out earlier than the company's usual release cycle. The Mountainview, California-based company said the latest update will help drive innovation in apps and devices with higher stability and polish.
Google typically releases its new Android software updates in the third or fourth quarter of each year. To put things into perspective, the last time Google didn't release a new Android update in the last three months of the year was with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, back in 2012.
When will Android 16 be released?
Android 16 will be rolled out via a major release in the second quarter of 2025, while another minor release will follow in the fourth quarter of 2025. Google says the major release will include “behavior changes that may impact apps.” Meanwhile, the Q4 minor release will include “feature updates, optimizations, and bug fixes since the major release.” Google specifically states that the minor update will not include any “app impact behavior changes.”
Google says the shift from Q3 to Q2 for the Android 16 launch is happening to “better align with the schedule of device launches in our ecosystem, so more devices can get the major release of Android sooner.”
While Google hasn't made any official announcements, it's widely expected that the change in schedule for Andorid 16 could help get the latest updates out faster for all Android devices and not just the Pixel phones. Even this year, OEMs like Vivo and iQOO beat Google when they launched the latest version of FuntouchOS 15, even before the Pixel 9 series, and as rumors suggest, this could be a trend that could continue in the coming year.
Meanwhile, the earlier release also more or less confirms that Google plans to stick with the August launch cycle for new Pixel devices as it did this year.
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Published: Nov 1, 2024 10:07 AM IST
