Android 16 is already available for a lucky few

We've known this for a while now: Google completely shakes up the Android update schedule from 2025. So, if in the past you had to wait until the third quarter (August, September, October) for the new major Android update, things are about to change drastically. So, Google now plans to update Android in May, which would actually correspond to the annual I/O event, held by Google during this period.

Android 16 prepares for its early release

In other words, if Android 15 was released in October 2024Android 16 should appear in May (for its public version). And if its public version will be available in May, this implies that the versions dedicated to developers and beta will be available well before. Thus, the very first version of Android 16, namely the preview version for developers, is available today.

The lead developer of Android at Google, Matthew McCullough, welcomed this release: “It's the start of a new era for Android, with more frequent API releases as part of our efforts to accelerate innovation in apps and devices“. Among the new features brought by Android 16, one of the most obvious is the addition of a simpler selection of content to share via the photo gallery. Thus, a menu allows users to select images and videos specific to share via various applications.

If we base ourselves on the calendar provided by Google, the very first public beta version of Android 16 will be available in January: we will then be able to go into more detail about the new features brought by this new update major.