Android 16 is now available for early testers

Google has given us a glimpse at what’s coming in the next major version of Android. The first preview release for Android 16 is available for developers starting today, which expands the photo library and medical data-sharing capabilities in apps. A change moving Android’s release timeline forward was announced last month, which could help third-party Android phones released in 2025 avoid waiting months to receive the latest major updates.

Android Developer head Matthew McCullough says, “This is the start of Android having more frequent API releases as part of our effort to drive faster innovation in apps and devices.”

The preview available today allows developers to embed Android’s photo picker — the menu that lets users select specific images and videos they want to share — directly into their apps. This should make sharing media with apps more seamless without granting them access to your entire device or cloud storage library. It also includes the latest version of Privacy Sandbox, Google’s in-development replacement for Android’s advertising ID.

A preview of the Health Connect app “contains an early version of APIs supporting health records” that “allows apps to read and write medical records in FHIR format,” according to Google. This could let apps and medical devices share information and medical records (with explicit consent from the user) the way wearables and fitness trackers already do, mirroring a similar Apple Health feature on iPhones.

Judging by Google’s projected release timeline, the first public beta for Android 16 will be available in January 2025. A final public release is expected sometime after April, likely lining up with Google’s annual I/O event (which was held on May 14th this year), where the company usually announces its latest Android updates and product features.