Google releases a new version of Android every year, and since 2013, they’ve all come out between August and November. However, that might change with Android 16.
Even though Android 15 is expected to roll out to supported Pixel phones on October 15, Google seems to be planning to release Android 16 earlier than usual—sometime in the second quarter of next year, between April and June Android 16 May Launch Sooner .
This would be a big change for Google. This year, the company moved its hardware announcement from the usual October to August. As a result, the new Pixel phones launched with Android 14 because Android 15 wasn’t ready.
If Android 16 is released by the end of June next year, and Google continues to announce new hardware in August, then the Pixel 10 series will be able to run Android 16 right away.
The news about Android 16 potentially launching in the second quarter comes from Google’s Compatibility Definition Document for Android 15 for developers and some updates to the Android Open Source Project. These documents mention major changes scheduled for “25Q2” or “25Q2/Android W.” The letter W comes after V, and since Android 15 was codenamed Vanilla Ice Cream, it looks like W refers to Android 16 (although Google has recently decided to call it Baklava).
These are just hints, though, and nothing is confirmed yet. Even if there were plans, things could still change. Both Android 15 and Android 14 had delays because of last-minute problems, so Android 16 might experience the same issues. However, if it is released in Q2, it would beat Apple’s yearly iOS release, at least in timing Android 16 May Launch Sooner .