Google could release Android 16 earlier than usual with this codename
Google will likely release Android 16 earlier than usual next year, according to details found in the company’s documentation for its smartphone operating system. The source code for Android 15 was released last month, but Google’s Pixel smartphones have yet to receive an update to the company’s latest operating system. This alleged move could allow Google to ship its next generation of smartphones out-of-the-box with Android 16, something that wasn’t possible with the Pixel 9 series. Meanwhile, Google is reportedly in the process of resetting the alphabet-based internal codename for Android 15 and Android 16.
The company’s Android 15 Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) includes references to an “Android 25Q2” release (via Android Authority) which appears to be the next version of Google’s smartphone operating system. The publication also spotted a comment from a Googler in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) that refers to a change that will be introduced with “25Q2/Android W”.
Google’s Android CDD points to a “25Q2 release”
Photo credit: screenshot / Google
Other references to upcoming API changes related to the alleged 25Q2 release also support the theory that it will be a major release and not an Android 15 quarterly platform release (QPR). This is because Google freezes the addition of new APIs before releasing a new version of the operating system, and no new APIs can be added until the next version update.
These clues suggest that Android 16 will arrive much earlier than previous versions, which in recent years have typically been released in September or October. It is currently unclear whether Google’s Pixel smartphones will also receive an early update to Android 16 next year.
One reason for this change could be so that Google can ensure that the latest version of Android is ready to ship on its smartphones: the Pixel 9 series runs on Android 14, which was released a year ago.
Meanwhile a separate one report claims that Google has reset the alphabet-based codenames for the upcoming Android versions, starting with Android 15, previously called Vanilla Ice Cream. While Android 16 was expected to be codenamed with a dessert starting with the letter W, it appears the series has already been reset.
While Android 15 was previously referred to internally as Vanilla Ice Cream, Google’s latest build numbers suggest that the letter V has been replaced with A. Similarly, Android 16 will be codenamed ‘baklava’, according to the publication. Although the term has already been noted in the code for the upcoming version, some Google engineers are still calling the release Android W.
