We had already heard news that Google plans to release Android 16 early next year, and it seems that Google is taking that commitment to heart. In fact, the first Android 16 developer preview is set to be released today, which is much earlier than we had previously expected.

For reference, the first developer preview of Android 15 was released in February, followed by the first beta in April. In other words, Google is effectively moving three months ahead of schedule, which is reflected in the official release schedule. According to the report, Google should release the first beta of Android 16 in January and stabilize the platform in March. The final Android 16 release would be after April, when the second quarter of 2025 officially begins.

Given that the release of Android 15 was much later than many had expected, things seem to be moving pretty quickly; Google has also promised that a major SDK release will take place in Q2 2025 and will include behavior changes, APIs, and new features. They promise. A minor SDK with new APIs and features will then be released in Q4, but with no “behavior changes affecting apps.”

This suggests that the Android 16 release will officially be split in two. Google emphasizes that the normal quarterly updates will continue as expected, but this emphasis on minor SDK releases confirms that it is something else entirely.

While there is not much to know about how Android 16 will change, Google has revealed a few details about what will be offered in the developer preview: first, the latest version of Android's Privacy Sandbox, which will be a new version of Android's Privacy Sandbox, with user data collection and more robust safeguards regarding user data collection and sharing. It allows the SDK to “run in a dedicated runtime environment separate from the app it provides.”

It also features a new version of the photo picker that allows developers to embed functionality into the view hierarchy. In other words, the picker will feel less obtrusive by the Android system and more like an integral part of the app. Importantly, this still has the isolation feature that allows users to choose which photos and videos they can access from the app.

Finally, Google will add a new API that supports reading and writing health records in FHIR format. This is, of course, with the direct consent of the user. Google also claims that Android 16 “marks a shift to frequent API releases” to speed up changes without affecting stability.

We will undoubtedly learn more about how Android 16 will change in the coming months as more developer previews and the first official beta versions are released.