Google said to skip Android 15 for TVs; May announce Android TV 16 in 2026

Google has a separate Android-based operating system (OS) that powers smart TVs. The Mountain View-based tech giant released Android TV 14 as its latest update earlier this year and it was speculated that this would be followed by the Android 15-based operating system next year. However, that may not be the case anymore as Google is said to be changing its release schedule to a bi-annual basis. This suggests that smart TVs may miss Android 15 altogether and Android 16 could be the next major OS update.

Android TV 16 release in 2026

This information comes from Mishaal Rahman of Android Authority. According to the reportGoogle privately announced the alleged change in release schedule at its Android TV partner conference. The company is said to have a bi-annual release strategy for Android TV updates and this could mean skipping Android TV 15.

The report highlights that Google did not say anything about the change in release schedule when asked for comment.

While this move is said to have been made official for future releases, there is precedent for Google not rolling out annual updates for Android TVs. The company did not release Android TV 13 and instead went straight to Android TV 14, which debuted earlier this year. It came with new features and improvements including a picture-in-picture mode, different power modes, AI-powered personalized descriptions, and new accessibility features like color correction, improved text options, better navigation, and more.

If the same launch pattern is followed by the company, Android TV 16 could be the next major Android OS update for smart TVs and would be released in 2026, in line with the biennial release schedule.

While not much is known about the features it could offer, Google has been spotted testing several new system APIs for the Android TV 16, the report said.