Key Takeaways
- Android 16 will reportedly launch earlier than usual. The tech giant’s adoption of a trunk-based Android development model can potentially accelerate release timelines.
- The next major Android release might be out in Q2, 2025, as suggested in Android 15’s CDD and AOSP.
- Unlike the Pixel 9, the Pixel 10 series might be released with the latest OS version, even if the flagship is released earlier than anticipated.
Google’s Pixel 9 series made a shocking departure from a long-standing tradition. Google’s latest flagship Pixel devices have always launched with the year’s respective Android update. For reference, the Pixel 6 series launched with Android 12, the Pixel 7 series shipped with Android 13, and last year’s Pixel 8 series debuted with Android 14.
2024’s Pixel 9 series, however, did not launch with Android 15, and there’s still roughly 15 more days before the update might hit Pixel devices. This could be attributed to the new series being released almost two months earlier than scheduled, with Android 15 retaining its expected release timeframe.
Next year onward, however, even if Google continues releasing its latest flagships (Pixel 10 series) in August, they’ll likely be released with the latest OS (Android 16). As suggested by Mishaal Rahman in a report for Android Authority, Android 16 might be making an early debut — sometime in Q2, 2025.
Historically, Google has released its latest mobile OS versions at the end of Q3 or the beginning of Q4. For reference, Android 14 came out in October, Android 13 in August, Android 12 in October, Android 11 in September, and so on. To find a release outside Google’s established pattern, you’d have to go back to 2012’s Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which came out in the month of July.
Rahman attributes the change to Google’s adoption of a trunk-based Android development model, which might also reportedly be a key reason for Google abandoning its 15-year-long alphabetical OS codenaming pattern. Instead of creating development branches for major releases, Google’s trunk-based development model allows developers to work on a single, unified branch, which can potentially accelerate release timelines.
More evidence pointing at an early release
Elsewhere, Rahman also pointed out some hidden references within Android 15’s Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) hinting at a Q2, 2025 release for the next major Android version. The CDD lays out specific performance benchmark requirements which a device needs to meet to declare support for performance class 15. Some of the requirements highlighted in the CDD have a note next to them that suggests they will be a must in the “25Q2 release” (2025, quarter 2) of Android.
Post adopting the trunk-based Android development model, Google has reportedly started using dates to reference Android releases. For reference, Android 14 QPR2, the first trunk-based release, was internally referred to as 24Q1. Android 14 QPR3 was 24Q2, Android 15 was 24Q3, while the upcoming Android 15QPR1 will be 24Q4.
Source: Android Authority
Similar references to 25Q2 have also been spotted in AOSP, with several Google engineers leaving comments suggesting that 25Q2 will be the next major Android release. One such comment was left on a new API in the Bluetooth stack, suggesting that the change will go live in the 25Q2 window. Considering that API changes are only allowed in major Android releases, and 24Q4 is Android 15 QPR 1, it implies that 25Q2 might signal the rollout of the next major Android release.
Q2 equals the months of April, May, and June. Previous releases that fall in the Q2 timeframe include Android 1.5 Cupcake in April 2009 and Android 2.2 Froyo in May 2010.