Google is keen to push out OS upgrades faster. The company’s first preview release for Android 16 is available for developers. It adds more capabilities to the photo library and medical data sharing in apps. This should help third-party Android phones released in 2025 avoid waiting months to receive the latest major updates.

This is an important change in the Android rollout schedule as Google usually releases its first Android developer beta around Q2, with a stable release coming out post-July. With the new schedule, Android 16’s stable version will be released in Q2 2025.

The company has to ensure that the first major release of Android 16 is stable so developers can build on top of it without major headaches.

Besides releasing a major SDK version in Q2 2025, Google will also have a minor SDK release in Q4 2025 with new developer APIs.

“We’re planning the major release a quarter earlier (Q2 rather than Q3 in prior years) to better align with the schedule of device launches across our ecosystem, so more devices can get the major release of Android sooner,” said Matthew McCullough, VP of product management for Android Developer ecosystem.