Google is likely to release Android 16 earlier than usual next year, according to details seen on the company’s documentation for its smartphone operating system. The source code for Android 15 was released last month, but Google’s Pixel smartphones are yet to receive the update to the company’s latest operating system. This intended switch could allow Google to ship its next-generation smartphones with Android 16, which was not possible with the Pixel 9 series. Meanwhile, Google is reportedly resetting the alphabet-based internal codename for Android 15 and Android 16.

Included in the company’s Android 15 Compatibility Definition Document (CDD). References For “Android 25Q2” release (through Android Authority) which appears to be the next version of Google’s smartphone OS. The publication also spotted a comment from Googler in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) referring to the change that will be introduced with “25Q2/Android W”.

Google’s Android CDD refers to the “25Q2 release”.
Photo Credit: Screenshot/Google

Other references to upcoming API changes related to the expected 25Q2 release also support the theory that this will be a major release and not the Android 15 Quarterly Platform Release (QPR). This is because Google freezes the addition of new APIs before releasing a new OS version, and no new APIs can be added until the next version update.

These indications suggest that Android 16 will arrive much earlier than previous versions, which have typically been released in September or October in recent years. It is currently unclear whether Google’s Pixel smartphones will also receive an early Android 16 update next year.

One of the reasons for the change could be to ensure that Google has the latest version of Android ready to ship to its smartphones — the Pixel 9 series is running Android 14, which was released a year ago. was done

Meanwhile, a separate Report Claims that Google has reset the alphabetic codenames for its upcoming Android versions, starting with Android 15, which was previously called Vanilla Ice Cream. While Android 16 was expected to be codenamed with a dessert that begins with the letter W, it seems 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was previously referred to internally as Vanilla Ice Cream, Google’s latest build numbers suggest that the letter V has been replaced by an A. Similarly, Android 16 will be codenamed ‘baklava’, according to the publication. Although the term has already been seen in the code for the upcoming version, some Google engineers are still referring to the release as Android W.