The release date for Android 16 has already been leaked, and it’s far earlier than we had anticipated

In an attempt to move from a yearly to a bi-yearly deployment, Android 16 will launch significantly earlier. The precise release date of Android was still uncertain, despite the fact that we already knew its dessert name and some of its future features.

According to people at Android Headlines, the release date of Android 16 may be June 3, 2025. Additionally, Android 16 will be published on the same day for both AOSP and Google Pixels, in contrast to Android 15, which came out considerably later after hitting AOSP.

We didn’t expect this to happen so fast. Google cited the need to swiftly introduce AI functionality to Android devices as the primary justification for moving to point releases. In order to push it to smartphones until fall, the business hopes to win over OEMs. This is to ensure that Android 16 will be pre-installed on handsets starting in July.

Naturally, the other reason might be the upcoming Pixels, which will also go on sale a few months earlier to rival iPhones and run a much more stable version of Android with less issues.

Given that the Pixel 10 series with the new Tensor G5 SoC will also appear at least two months earlier, the early launch also makes sense. Android should be included with the next flagship Pixel, but it wasn’t with the Pixel 9 and Android 15. Nevertheless, the Pixel 9a will still launch with Android 15 because it is also coming out earlier than last year.

This is the Android schedule, along with the 2025 point release window. While the point release (Android 16.1, perhaps?) will be released in the latter half of the year, the stable version of Android 16 is scheduled to arrive in Q2 (June). The SDK is being updated for Android 16, but the point release is not.