Android 16

Google is toying with a new setting that would allow users to swap Android’s double-tap power button shortcut that currently opens the camera to instead open Google Wallet and other wallet apps, and it could debut in Android 16.

Beta 1 of Android 16 is available today as most people’s introduction to Google’s next major OS version.

The first beta of the next major version of Google’s mobile OS is launching today with Android 16 Beta 1 rolling out to Pixel devices. This release is now available.

The Android 16 Beta for Pixel devices is scheduled to start in January and some key dates have emerged. Compared to previous years, Android 16 is set to arrive in Q2 of 2025 (instead of Q3), with Google moving up the first Developer Preview from February to November.

Multitasking on Android has been around for ages, but it hasn’t changed much in a long time. Whether on a phone, a foldable, or a full-size tablet, Android technically only supports running two apps at once unless a skin adds additional functionality. For Android 16, it seems Google is working on a revamp for split-screen mode with support for up to 3 apps at once on tablet displays.

The first Android 16 beta likely isn’t too far away, and that’s where Google’s bigger changes are expected to debut. Ahead of that, a new design for the volume slider has been discovered in Android 16, and it looks pretty nice.

A new option coming to Pixel phones in Android 16 is the ability to use the fingerprint sensor when the screen is turned off.

The second developer preview of Android 16 is available today, and we are looking at DP2 to find what new features have been introduced. So far, this isn’t a big release.

Ahead of the Q2 2025 launch, Google is rolling out Developer Preview 2 of Android 16 to Pixel devices. This should be the last Android update of the year, with 15 QPR2 Beta 2 arriving earlier this week.

We have barely had time to process Android 15, but now we have the start of the next OS development cycle. This raises the question: What do you want to see from Android 16?

With the release of Android 16 DP1, Google shared the schedule for the Developer Preview and upcoming Beta.

With Android 15, Google elevated the Privacy dashboard into the main Security & privacy page, and Android 16 DP1 adds a 7-day permissions history. 

The first developer preview of Android 16 is available today, and we are looking at DP1 to find what new features have been introduced.

Officially, Google only promised three years of Android updates, as well as two more years of security patches, for its 2021 Tensor flagships. The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are now getting Android 16 Developer Preview 1, which bodes well for the public launch.

With Android 16 set to launch in the second quarter of 2025, Google is starting the Developer Preview for Pixel devices today.

Google announced today that “Android will have more frequent SDK releases,” while setting a Q2 2025 release date for Android 16, which will soon see a developer preview.

The Developer Preview for the next version of Android usually gets underway in February and progresses to a Beta in April with the public release set for Q3. Work on Android 16 is fully underway and points to an earlier than usual “25Q2” release.