Today is the big day: Google just released Android 16 to the public. The update is rolling out now to the Pixel 6 and later, and the update’s source code is now available to developers on the Android Open Source Project.
While Android 16 is classified as a major update, it certainly doesn’t look or feel like one on the surface. That’s because this initial release lacks many of the marquee features Google announced last month, such as the Material 3 Expressive redesign and the new Desktop Mode experience.
However, the Android 16 update isn’t entirely devoid of exciting changes; many of them are simply not fully available in this initial release. That’s why it seems like a boring update at first glance. But under the hood, there’s a lot to get excited about, which I’ll be covering in this in-depth Android 16 review.
Before we begin, though, I need to address something important, and that’s Android 16’s atypical release schedule.
Why did Google release Android 16 so early? If you haven’t been following Android news, you may be surprised that Google released Android 16 today, June 10, 2025. For context, the source code for Android 15, the last major version, was released on September 3, 2024, while the actual update for Pixel devices didn’t arrive until October 15, 2024. Since most major Android versions are released in the August-October timeframe, Android 16’s June debut puts it roughly three months ahead of schedule. Android Version Code-name Release Date Android 16 Baklava June 10, 2025 Android 15 Vanilla Ice Cream September 3, 2024 Android 14 Upside Down Cake October 4, 2023 Android 13 Tiramisu August 15, 2022 Android 12 Snow Cone October 4, 2021 Android 11 Red Velvet Cake September 8, 2020 Android 10 Quince Tart September 3, 2019 There are two reasons why Google released Android 16, codenamed ‘Baklava’, so early. First, the earlier release means that Android devices launching in the summer can ship with the latest version of the OS. For example, Samsung recently confirmed that its upcoming foldables, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7, will launch with its Android 16-based One UI 8 software. Without this early release, that would only have been possible if Samsung delayed the launch of the phones, which are expected to land next month.
In the past, Android devices launching during the summer would ship with the previous year’s OS and receive an update to the current one later. This even happened with Google’s own Pixel 9 series, which launched in August 2024 with Android 14 out of the box instead of Android 15. The upcoming Pixel 10 series is also expected to launch in August, but this time, Google will be able to ship it with Android 16 from day one.
The other major reason Google is speeding up Android’s release schedule is to roll out more substantial updates more frequently. In the past, there was typically only one version per year that brought new APIs for developers. Going forward, there will be two releases each year with new APIs: a major platform release in Q2 and a smaller API update in Q4. The major release (like Android 16) will bring new features, APIs, and behavior changes, while the Q4 update will bring new features and APIs but no behavior changes. The other two quarterly releases in Q1 and Q3 will only bring feature drops.
Google The release timeline for Android 16, Android 16 QPR1, and Android 16 QPR2
To see this new schedule in action, so far this year we’ve had Android 15 QPR2 in Q1 and now the full Android 16 update in Q2. We can expect Android 16 QPR1 in Q3 and Android 16 QPR2 in Q4. We don’t know what Google is planning for the Q4 update yet, but we do know that anticipated features like the Material 3 Expressive UI overhaul and the new Desktop Mode are slated to arrive with Android 16 QPR1.
What’s actually new in Android 16? Google’s decision to roll out the Material 3 Expressive redesign and Desktop Mode with QPR1 is a big reason why the initial Android 16 release feels lackluster, but it does mean the most exciting new features are only a few months away. Today’s stable Android 16 update lays the groundwork for more exciting features to come in future releases, like Live Updates and App Functions. The update also makes apps look and behave more consistently, brings some nice quality-of-life improvements, and beefs up protections against scammers and hackers.
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