The Android 16 Second Developer Preview Still Doesn’t Tell Us Much

Android 15 hasn’t even rolled out to every smartphone yet, and we’re already talking about Android 16. Typically, we have a little time between when the latest version releases and the first developer preview hits the servers. In the past few years, Android’s initial developer previews have hit in February of the year the software plans to launch. But this year, Google started even earlier. The first developer preview went out in November, and now the second developer preview is available for devs to code their apps toward. It also means we’ll have a public beta earlier in the new year.

So far, Android 16 offers minimal new features compared to the last few releases. Native cloud search is coming to the photo picker, so you can easily create end-of-year Instagram recaps from off-device accounts without switching between apps. Health Connect will be beefed up by letting you log activity intensity across fitness apps. Android 16 also supports devices with 802.11az, a burgeoning standard with additional security enhancements. It’s all pretty standard improvements to the platform.

I’m still struggling to pinpoint the major “get” in Android 16. What is it offering me as a user? Under the hood, Google lists richer haptics, better system profiling management, and a more responsive adaptive refresh rate. Sure, that will make flagship Android phones soar a little more than they already do, but it’s not exactly moving the needle in platform innovation.

The Android team seems focused on fixing what’s under the hood before the first public beta hits early next year. For instance, this latest developer preview is deprecating some old accessibility code that interferes with the user experience.

Anyway, I’m not complaining. I struggle to find excitement about something that doesn’t involve me yet. The developer preview allows developers to rev up their apps for the next operating system since the platform has always struggled with parity across its different brands. Hopefully, Google’s earlier call to action will speed up the update transition in 2025.

At the very least, we’ll have a public beta of Android 16 earlier than usual–well before Google’s annual developer conference. The current timeline offering at Android’s development site says to expect a beta release as early as January 2025, with the final release hitting something after April 2025. That time is, typically, when to expect Google I/O, which means we’ll have Android 16 by the time the developer conference starts in the spring. That’s a whole three to four months earlier than normally expected. Neat!

If you want to try out the developer preview now, you can sign up as one and flash it to a compatible Pixel device.