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Android 16 development shifts to a faster gear

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Android 16 development shifts to a faster gear

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Android 16 development shifts to a faster gear


It looks like Google is shaking up its usual schedule for big Android updates. Traditionally, these major releases happen in the later part of the year, but there are hints, as observed by Android expert Mishaal Rahman, that Android 16 might arrive much earlier, possibly in the first half of 2025. This change seems to be tied to Google’s recent switch to a new way of developing Android, aimed at making it more stable and easier to work on.Historically, Google has launched new Android versions in August, September, or October. Android 15 just came out this month, while Android 14 arrived in early October last year. You’d have to go back to 2012 to find an Android version released outside this timeframe. This yearly cycle has given Google plenty of time to plan, build, and test new features for each update.

Thanks to better tools and infrastructure, creating and distributing new Android versions has become simpler over the years. However, one thing remained the same until recently: how Google’s developers handled the core code of Android.

As explained by Rahman, earlier this year Google adopted a new development approach called “trunk-based development” to make Android more stable. In this model, all developers work on a single, main version of the code, using flags to decide which features are active in specific builds. This change has already shown positive results and might be the reason Google feels confident enough to release updates sooner.

The main clue pointing to an earlier Android 16 release is in the official documentation for Android 15, which mentions “25Q2” as the next Android release. Since Google started using dates internally to refer to Android versions, 25Q2 likely means Android 16, not a minor update to Android 15. Further evidence is found in code changes and comments by Google engineers, indicating new features are planned for the 25Q2 release, which is typical for major Android versions but not for minor updates.

If 25Q2 does indeed refer to Android 16, Google plans to release it in the second quarter of 2025, possibly around June. While an April or May release seems unlikely, an earlier release could coincide with Google I/O, their big developer conference. It would also mean that next year’s Pixel phones would launch with the latest Android version.

Should this be the case, this news is actually pretty exciting. A faster Android release cycle could mean getting new features and improvements sooner. As a consumer, I’m curious to see how this affects the launch of new Pixel phones and whether other phone makers will also start delivering updates more quickly. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.



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