3 days Ago By Peter Holmes
Somebody has cranked up the treadmill speed at Google, with the company revealing it plans to release Android 16 in the second quarter of 2025 rather than the third quarter. With Android 15 still adjusting its eyes to the light after a mid-October launch, Google has just unveiled the timeline for its successor. “This is the start of Android having more frequent API releases as part of our effort to drive faster innovation in apps and devices,” Google says.
Developer previews for Android 16 will occur in November and December, with the beta releases due between January and the start of March. Platform stability testing will run through March and April, and from there it’s anybody’s guess, although May is a possibility. Officially, the planned launch is in the second quarter of 2025.
Android 16 APIs. Google says the first developer preview “is now available to try out with your apps. Install a system image and update the tools to get started”.
“During this phase, we’re looking for your feedback, so please let us know what you think! The earlier we get your feedback, the more we can include in the final release.” Google has warned app makers “you’ll need to do your annual compatibility testing a few months earlier than in previous years to make sure your apps are ready”. The earlier release is “to better align with the schedule of device launches across our ecosystem, so more devices can get the major release of Android sooner”, the company says.
“We plan to have another release in Q4 of 2025, which also will include new developer APIs. The Q2 major release will be the only release in 2025 to include planned behaviour changes that could affect apps. “In addition to new developer APIs, the Q4 minor release will pick up feature updates, optimisations, and bug fixes; it will not include any app-impacting behaviour changes.
” Google says the first and third quarter updates in-between the API releases “will provide incremental updates to help ensure continuous quality. We’re actively working with our device partners to bring the Q2 release to as many devices as possible”. Android 16.
As for what’s new, at this stage there is not a lot to point to. An “Embedded photo picker ..
. provides a safe, built-in way for users to grant your app access to selected images and videos from both local and cloud storage, instead of their entire media library”. “This allows it to feel like a more integrated part of the app while still leveraging the process isolation that allows users to select media without the app needing overly-broad permissions,” Google says.
The developer preview of Health Connect contains an early version of APIs “supporting health records”. Google says this allows apps to read and write medical records in FHIR format with explicit user consent. Finally, Android 16 incorporates the latest version of the Privacy Sandbox on Android, “part of our ongoing work to develop technologies where users know their privacy is protected”.
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