The next iteration of Google’s mobile operating system, Android, will arrive in quarter 2 of 2025. Until now, Google has been consistent with its new releases occurring in quarters 3 or 4. In an announcement yesterday (October 31) on the Android Developers Blog, Matthew McCullough, Google’s Vice President of Product for Android Developers, wrote that they plan on having two releases next year: a major release in Q2, which will be “the only release in 2025 to include behavior changes that can affect apps,” and a minor release in Q4. According to McCullough, the reason for the departure from the established release schedule is to “better align with the schedule of device launches across our ecosystem, so more devices can get the major release of Android sooner.” It isn’t clear what device launches McCullough is referring to, however, with Google’s Pixel 9 launching slightly earlier in the year than previous devices, it is likely the tech giant wants their newest operating system out and bug-free in time for their next phone release. What is the difference between the planned Q2 and Q4 Android 16 releases? Google’s announcement confirmed that they have a major release planned for Q2 and a minor release planned for Q4.