Google releases the first developer preview of Android 16 to accelerate the rollout of features to devices.
This is a major change in the Android rollout schedule, as in past years, Google has released the first Android developer betas around Q2, with stable releases coming out from July onwards. Under the new schedule, the stable version of Android 16 will be released in Q2 2025.
Google probably wants this move to reduce the fragmentation of different devices running different Android versions. In competition with iOS, this structure could also allow device manufacturers to quickly deliver Android's core functionality to more users.
However, Google needs to ensure that the first major release of Android 16 is stable so that developers can build on top of Android 16 without worrying about breaking their apps.
In addition to releasing a major SDK version in Q2 2025, the company plans to release a minor SDK release in Q4 2025 with new developer APIs, likely accelerating features for developers. He added that he plans to release it.
“In line with device launch schedules across our ecosystem, we are moving major releases four quarters in advance (in Q2 instead of Q3 in previous years) so that more devices can get major releases of Android sooner. ),” said Vice President Matthew McCullough. We talk about product management in the Android developer ecosystem in a blog post.
In terms of features, the first developer preview of Android 16 introduces an embedded photo picker for apps. This feature allows apps to request users to access selected photos from both local storage and the cloud.
Google is also releasing a developer preview of Health Connect with APIs to support medical records. This means that the app can read and write medical records in FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) format, a standard used to exchange medical records between different systems. permission.
The company announced the Google Pixel 8 series in September 2023 and the Google Pixel 9 series in August 2024. Pixel 9 received Android 15 compatibility in October this year. It's unclear whether Google will continue these two API year release models for future releases and how that will impact the Pixel release cycle.
Seang Chau, vice president and general of Android platform, said on the Android Faithful podcast in October that the company's previous approach of point releases and API release schedules made it difficult for developers and device manufacturers to keep up. . With the new release cycle, the company will release major API changes earlier this year and only add APIs for Q4 2025 release to ensure developers don't face any issues.