Even though Android 15 launched only recently, Google is already moving on to Android 16, which is much earlier than is typical. And if you have a Pixel device from the past couple of years, you can get the Android 16 Developer Preview 1 right now.
Typically, when Google releases a beta for Android, the Pixel lineup gets it first before any other phones. When Google announced Android 16 earlier today, we didn’t know exactly which Pixel models would be able to get the Developer Preview. But Google just revealed which models can run Android 16, and two of them are a bit surprising.
According to Google’s support documentation, the Pixel 6 and newer models will be able to get Android 16. This is something of a surprise considering that the Pixel 6 lineup was originally slated to only get guaranteed updates up to Android 15/October 2024. So, if you’re still holding on to a Pixel 6 device, it looks like it can chug along for another year.
Here’s the complete list of Pixel devices that can get Android 16 Developer Preview 1:
That brings the total number of devices that can get this very early beta preview up to 15. Considering that we weren’t expecting the Pixel 6 lineup to go past Android 15, this is a very nice surprise.
So, what’s new in Android 16? Right now, it doesn’t look like there are any major new features. However, a significant change lies with the new API for the Android photo picker, which should make it “feel like a more integrated part of the app” that you’re using it in. Most third-party apps right now use their own photo picker, but when developers support the new API, it should be more secure and hopefully encourage more developers to use it. There are also some new APIs for reading and writing health records with Health Connect.
But why the much earlier release schedule for Android 16? Google claims that it should give developers more time to get their apps ready for the next Android version.
Again, this is a very early developer beta for Android 16, so we don’t encourage downloading it unless you’re actually developing an app. And even then, you should put it on a device that isn’t your daily driver.
