Google has just confirmed the speculations that Android 16 will indeed be rolled out earlier than the usual release cycle adopted by the company. The Mountainview California based company said that the latest update will help drive innovation in apps and devices with higher stability and polish.
Google usually releases its new Android software updates in Q3 or Q4 of each year. Just to put things in perspective, the last time Google did not release a new Android update in the last three months of the year was with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, back in 2012.
When is Android 16 releasing?
Android 16 will be rolled out via major release in second quarter of 2025 while another minor release will follow in Q4 2025. Google says that the major release will ‘include behavior changes that can affect 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-impacting behavior changes.”
Google says the shift from Q3 to Q2 for Android 16 launch is taking place in order to ‘better align with the schedule of device launches across our ecosystem, so more devices can get the major release of Android sooner.’
While Google hasn’t officially made any announcements, it is widely anticipated that the change in scheduling for Andorid 16 could help provide the latest updates sooner to all Android devices and not just the Pixel phones. Even this year, OEMs like Vivo and iQOO beat Google to the punch when they launched the latest version of FuntouchOS 15 even prior to Pixel 9 series and as rumors suggest, this could be a trend that may continue in the coming year.
Meanwhile, the earlier release also more or less confirms that Google is planning on sticking on the August launch cycle for new Pixel devices like this year.
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Published: 01 Nov 2024, 10:07 AM IST
