While You Wait for Android 15, Android 16 Previews Are Already Here

Okay, at some point, you just can’t keep up with it all. Android 15 came out about a month and a half ago, and only a few devices have it so far—mostly because the biggest Android player, Samsung, is yet to update its devices.

Samsung is working on a huge update to its customizations to Android, and their flavor, called One UI, is set to launch with the S25 series. Hence why Samsung has been slow with the Android 15 updates this time around.

In the past few years, Samsung had made a name for itself as being one of the first manufacturers, after Google of course, to push major Android updates. The understanding is that after the major overhaul of One UI this year, next year, users will get Android 16 mere weeks after the Pixel.

Speaking of Android 16, Google has already released the first Developer Preview. Remember that Android 15 came out about six weeks ago, and yet Android 16 previews are already out. Here’s the projected timeline:

Historically, the first developer preview for a new Android version rolled out around February or March.

However, Google surprised everyone by releasing the first Android 16 developer preview in November 2024. They’re aiming for a faster release cycle this time around—or so the understanding goes.

Google is streamlining its development process and trying to keep up with iOS’s stellar update record. Although, this time around, Apple shipped an incomplete OS, with the full promised Apple Intelligence features not expected until close to Q2 2025 or thereabouts.

It seems this AI rush may be the reason Google is also switching up its development process. There’s speculation that Android 16 might have significant AI features, requiring more development time and potentially an earlier release to showcase them.

Then there’s Google’s goal to synchronize Android releases with major device launches. This year, Google pushed up the Pixel release date from October to August, and that embarrassingly meant the latest Google smartphones launched with last year’s OS.

Therefore, it stands to reason that Google moved up Android release schedules so Android 16 can be ready by the time the Pixel 10 launches, presumably in August.

So, this means all you Samsung lovers will only have a few months to enjoy Android 15 before 16 comes out. To be honest, though, it’s no longer a big deal. These OSes have matured, and if you aren’t really feeling this whole AI business, you won’t have much to be excited about in an upgrade.

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