- Android 16 has just launched in developer preview form
- Developers can use it to start getting their apps ready
- A full launch is due in the first half of 2025
Android 15 was only pushed out to Pixel phones last month, but Google isn't hanging around when it comes to Android 16: the developer preview is now live, so app makers can start getting to grips with the 2025 software update.
These previews give developers the chance to get their apps ready for the full release of Android 16, and they evolve over time – so right now, there's not a whole lot in the way of new features we can tell you about.
What Google has said is that Android 16 will enable users to give apps access to a selected number of photos and videos in their phone library if they prefer, rather than everything (which is how it works on iOS). The foundations are also being laid for improvements to health record syncing across apps and devices, with user permission.
Speaking of privacy, the Privacy Sandbox part of the mobile operating system is getting updated for Android 16. Essentially, it will mean we get more control over the data that apps can access, and how this data can be shared between apps.
Here's what's coming
Android 16 may seem light on new features now, but it's early days: expect to hear more about major upgrades when the public beta launches in January 2025, and at the Google I/O 2025 event that should be happening in May 2025.
Changes rumored to be coming with Android 16 include more user control over the Do Not Disturb mode, improved security features, and a different way of accessing Quick Settings. We might also see the iPhone's Dynamic Island idea transferred to Android devices, giving app makers a different way to present live information.
We already know that Google wants to get the software out by mid-2025, which is earlier than normal. The shift is to "better align with the schedule of device launches across our ecosystem, so more devices can get the major release of Android sooner," Google says.
Android 15 was actually finished several weeks before it started showing up on phones, which doesn't usually happen – and it's clear Google doesn't want a repeat next year, with the Google Pixel 10 most likely showing up sometime in August 2025.
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