Android 16: The Ultimate Guide

The post Android 16: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on Android Headlines.

Mar 13, 2025 - 20:52

Android 16 is nearly here, about two months earlier than normal. Last year, Google started to change up the timeline of when products were released, including Pixel and Android. Releasing the Pixel 9 back in August instead of October, Pixel 9a is now launching in March instead of May, and now we’re seeing Android 16 launching in June instead of August or September. In fact, we’ve reported that Android 16 will head to AOSP on June 3.

Google released the first developer preview for Android 16 on November 19, 2024. Just a couple of months after Android 15 rolled out to Pixel devices. With the first beta landing in January of 2025. As we get closer to the Android 16 launch and availability in June, we’re telling you everything you need to know about Android 16 right here.

What will Android 16 be called?

Unfortunately, Google has stopped using the dessert names publicly, for new versions of Android. However, they are still used internally. And Android 16 is called “Baklava”. This does differ from Google’s past naming for versions of Android, as it typically goes to the next letter in the alphabet, and Android 15 was Vanilla Ice Cream. Here’s what the recent Android versions were named, internally.

Android 10 – Quince Tart
Android 11 – Red Velvet Cake
Android 12 – Snow Cone
Android 13 – Tiramisu
Android 14 – Upside Down Cake
Android 15 – Vanilla Ice Cream
Android 16 – Baklava

When will Android 16 be released?

As mentioned before, Google has been moving its timeline around a bit over the past year, and with the developer preview and beta both launching much earlier than usual for Android 16, we are expecting an earlier launch date. So looking at past launch dates is a bit hard, in terms of giving us an idea of when Android 16 will be available. However, we have already reported that Android 16 will start to roll out on June 3. With the Pixel update coming soon after.

Android 15 – October 2024
Android 14 – October 2023
Android 13 – August 2022
Android 12 – October 2021
Android 11 – September 2020
Android 10 – September 2019

What’s the developer preview and beta schedule?

Google is sticking with mostly the same developer preview and beta schedule as in previous years, only moved up a couple months. So we’re looking at two developer previews, followed by four public betas, and then the stable launch in June. Here’s the schedule so far:

timeline desktop feb en

Android 16 Developer Preview 1 – November 19, 2024
Android 16 Developer Preview 2 – December 28, 2024
Android 16 Beta 1 – January 23, 2025
Android 16 Beta 2 – February 13, 2025
Android 16 Beta 2.1 – February 27, 2025
Android 16 Beta 3 – March 13, 2025
Android 16 Beta 4
Android 16 Stable Release

What devices will get Android 16?

While we can’t yet say specifically which devices will for sure get Android 16, we do know of some devices that are guaranteed to get updates through this version of Android, specifically on the Pixel side. Google announced last year that it was adding another year of support to the Pixel 6 series, which makes this list the same as Android 15.

Pixel 6
Pixel 6 Pro
Pixel 6a
Pixel 7
Pixel 7 Pro
Pixel 7a
Pixel Fold
Pixel Tablet
Pixel 8
Pixel 8 Pro
Pixel 8a
Pixel 9
Pixel 9 Pro
Pixel 9 Pro XL
Pixel 9 Pro Fold

We also know that the Galaxy S24 and S25 series will get Android 16, however, Samsung is currently struggling to get Android 15 out. So we have no clue when these devices will get Android 16 (One UI 8).

What features does Android 16 bring?

These days, new Android versions don’t bring many user-facing features. A lot of the changes are going to be under-the-hood and for developers with the APIs. But this year, we do have a few features that users will notice, like Live Updates and a new Embedded Photo Picker

Live Updates

In Android 16 Beta 1, Google introduced Live Updates, and yes this sounds just like Apple’s Live Activities. That’s essentially what this is. It’s a new classification of notifications that allow users to monitor and access important ongoing activities. These updates are going to be great for apps like GrubHub, Uber, Google Maps, Instagram, etc.

Developers will be able to use this new notification style to denote states and milestones in a user’s journey, through a progress bar. You can see Live Updates in action with the latest Android 16 beta and the latest Google Maps update, which will show your status in the status bar for your navigation.

Embedded Photo Picker

Google has also added new APIs related to the photo picker, in Android 16 Beta 1. These new APIs will let app developers have a bit more creative control over how the photo picker appears for the user. In Beta 2, Google added new APIs to enable searching from cloud media providers in the Android photo picker, with the Search functionality “coming soon”.

Health Records

Google is also updating Health Connect in Android 16, it can now support certain health records. This allows Health Connect to both read and write Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard. Which is most likely the same standard that your doctors and dentists use.

Because of how sensitive this information can be, Google is limiting this to an early access program, and forcing developers to apply for access before playing around with it.

Improved app adaptability for Foldables and Tablets

Google has been adding more and more features for foldable and tablets over the past few Android versions. And that continues with Android 16. We’re looking at improved app adaptability in Android 16, which is obviously targeted at foldable and tablet devices. The new APIs in Android 16 manifest attributes that restrict orientation and resizing will be ignored for apps on large screen devices.

Currently, this is a change that app developers can opt out of. However, it will be mandatory in Android 17.

When will my phone get Android 16?

We can’t really say for sure when your phone will get Android 16, especially since it’s not yet out and in AOSP. But we can educationally guess that it’ll be sometime after June. Pixel devices (Pixel 6 and later) should be getting the update shortly after the June 3rd push to AOSP. However, Google could also opt to hold off on the update to Pixel until the Pixel 10 series launches in August.

In the past OnePlus and Samsung have been pretty quick with pushing out updates. Though the Android 15 update for Samsung is an outlier here, and has left a bad taste in lots of people’s mouths. Hopefully, the Android 16 update won’t be a repeat for Samsung.

The post Android 16: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on Android Headlines.