Android 16 Developer Preview announced – new features, timeline and everything you need to know

• Google has announced the first Android 16 Developer Preview.
• The search giant is moving towards an earlier update cycle, to align with device launches.
• Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming Android version.

Google has announced the rollout of the first developer preview of Android 16, the company’s next Android release. This time around, the developer preview has been announced a few months early as Google is moving towards an earlier rollout and more frequent updates.

“This is the start of Android having more frequent API releases as part of our effort to drive faster innovation in apps and devices,” said Matthew McCullough, VP of Product Management, Android Developer.

Android 16 update rollout

Starting with Android 16, Google plans to roll out two major Android API updates. The Android 16 is planned to be launched in Q2 2025, with a secondary update in Q4 2025.

The revised update timeline is designed to better align with device launch schedules.

“We’re planning the major release a quarter earlier (Q2 rather than Q3 in prior years) to better align with the schedule of device launches across our ecosystem so that more devices can get the major release of Android sooner,” McCullough said.

Users will get smaller updates with features between the two API updates.

“We'll continue to have quarterly Android releases. The Q1 and Q3 updates in-between the API releases will provide incremental updates to help ensure continuous quality,” McCullough added.

Android 16 Developer Preview features

Embedded photo picker

Google has added a new photo picker that allows users to grant apps access to certain images and videos, instead of granting access to the entire media library.

Health records

The developer preview of Health Connect contains an early version of APIs supporting health records. This allows apps to read and write medical records in FHIR format with explicit user consent. This API is currently in an early access program.

Privacy Sandbox on Android

Android 16 incorporates the latest version of the Privacy Sandbox on Android, allowing SDKs to run in a dedicated runtime environment separate from the app they are serving, providing stronger safeguards around user data collection and sharing.

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