Android 16 will be released much earlier than you think

Android releases lead to somewhat of a celebration in tech circles, as with each major OS version comes better user experiences and new features. However, in recent years, the innovation that we had grown accustomed to with previous Android releases has decreased, and each update feels like an incremental jump from the previous version.

Google didn’t even release its latest Google Pixel 9 devices alongside Android 15, which is the newest operating system available on most Android phones. We didn’t even see Android 15 QPR1 Beta on Pixel 9 devices when the version became available in August. The act of releasing phones along with major OS releases is one we have grown accustomed to, but going forward, we will need to get used to another change in how Google develops and unleashes Android versions.

Google confirmed today that it will be releasing two SDK versions in 2025, with one major release happening in Q2 and one minor release happening in Q4. The major release will be Android 16, which means that Google will be releasing a major Android OS before Q3 of any given year for the first time in more than a decade.

As Mishaal Rahman noted in his article for Android Authority, it’s unclear whether the minor SDK will have its own marketing name like 16.1, or if it will continue on as simply another Android 16 update.

Back in September, we reported that Google was potentially changing its major Android version release schedule, and with this news, it has become a reality. Earlier this week, we heard even more evidence that Android 16’s name will likely be Baklava, a heavy departure from the naming convention of previous versions. Its name should have started with a “W,” going off the former alphabetical naming format.

The Android 16 experience (potentially)

Android 16 will potentially feature a bevy of changes and updates that could make it better than Android 15. We may see the option to put any app within a floating bubble menu, something that has historically only been an option for messaging apps. The brightness slider will potentially get a visual tweak, bringing it more in line with the volume settings slider in Android 15. The Quick Settings menu will most likely get completely redesigned, which is a welcome development for us at Android Police.

When Android 15 came out, we knew it would be a refined experience that took some of the best features of Android 14 and tweaked them. With Android 16, when it does come out, we have some thoughts about what we’d like to see changed from the current Android 15 suite. Among those ideas, we’d like a simpler Private Space feature, new theft protection features set to “on” by default, and to make turning Bluetooth off normal, again. On the topic of Android 15’s Bluetooth toggle, it seems like Android 16 will feature resizable Quick Settings tiles. If that happens, users will be able to edit their most-used Quick Settings buttons to make them more prominent, which continues the idea of making good but incremental upgrades to the Android experience with each new OS.

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Android 16: Leaks, rumors, features, and potential release window

Move over, Android 15