Summary
- Android 15 Developer Preview is out with developer-focused changes. Beta releases start in April, stable build is expected in August or later.
- Second developer preview arrives in March, followed by first beta release in April with more user-facing changes.
- Platform Stability to be reached in June, allowing third-party developers to optimize apps. Fourth beta expected in July, with possible additional builds if needed.
The first Android 15 Developer Preview is here with several developer-focused changes. Alongside all the technical details of the underlying changes, Google shared the pre-release timeline of Android 15. The company is sticking to the same timeframe as the last few years. We should get two developer previews, with four beta releases of the OS arriving after that. The stable Android 15 build will drop sometime after July.
According to Google’s timeline, the second Android 15 developer preview will drop in March. This will be followed by the first beta release in April, which should introduce many more user-facing changes. The second beta will arrive in May, presumably right after the opening keynote of I/O 24 takes place.
Source: Google
The OS is scheduled to hit Platform Stability in June 2024. That’s when the company will finalize all the APIs and SDKs, ensuring there won’t be any more underlying changes. This will give third-party developers the time to optimize their apps for the OS ahead of its public release.
Google will release the fourth beta in July. While the company anticipates releasing four Android 15 beta builds, the number could increase, as we saw with Android 14 last year. The latter got an unscheduled Beta 5 build in the second week of August 2023 with several bug fixes, just weeks ahead of the official release. If Google runs into unexpected bugs or issues, expect one or two additional beta builds to land your way. We could also see one or more point releases to fix urgent bugs.
How to easily install the Android 15 developer preview on your Pixel
The Android 15 testing program is now in full swing, here’s how to become part of it
Like before, Google is not sharing a concrete release date or timeframe for Android 15. While the company launched Android 12 and Android 13 in August, it delayed Android 14’s release to early October. It could follow a similar strategy this year and push Android 15 to compatible Pixel phones only in early October when it unveils the Pixel 9.
You can always install the Android 15 developer preview on your Pixel phone right away. However, as its name suggests, this is a developer-focused build that is light on user-facing changes and features. Therefore, you should wait until the first beta drops in April before flashing Android 15 on your phone.
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