Android 16 launch begins in June, starting with Pixel phones

Android 16 launch starts next month—yep, June 2025. That’s earlier than usual. Google’s Sameer Samat, president of the Android Ecosystem, casually dropped the update during his closing remarks at I/O, telling viewers to watch for updates “starting next month” on Pixel phones.

That pretty much confirms the stable version is ready and will hit Pixels first, likely rolling out OTA in waves. If you’re the impatient type, now’s the time to start refreshing that Beta Program dashboard.

It also means Google is separating Android’s rollout from the main hype of I/O, probably to avoid having it drowned out by AI announcements. Makes sense since Android deserves its own spotlight.

As for the rest of the Android world, Samat said Android 16 will reach “Samsung and many others this summer.” That likely points to a One UI 8 beta for the Galaxy S25 series in the near future, maybe even before the Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 launch. Samsung likes to time major Android updates with its hardware announcements, but don’t be surprised if current flagships get test builds ahead of schedule.

This is the earliest Android has gone stable in years, if not ever. The big question now is whether any OEMs besides Google will actually deliver it on time.

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