If you have an Android phone in your pocket and get excited about the latest new features that get delivered via free software updates, there’s a new date for your diary.
Every year, Google, the maker of Android, releases a new version. That version usually gets pushed out first to Google Pixel phones, and it’s then up to other Android manufacturers, such as Samsung, OnePlus, Oppo, Honor and Xiaomi, to take the latest flavour and send it out to new and existing devices.
In recent times, Google has opted to lift the lid on the new Android version at its I/O developer conference, usually held in May. This year I/O falls on May 20, but in a break with tradition, Google has confirmed it will precede its annual shindig with an online look into what’s new on Android, one whole week earlier.
“Mark your calendars to get a sneak peek of the latest innovations and experiences ahead of Google I/O”, Google said.
The below teaser video announcing the The Android Show: I/O Edition that will air on YouTube on May 13, 2025 at 10am PT, which is 5pm UK time.
“We hope you’ll all tune in on May 13th to see what’s new on Android”, Samat says on the video, which is a special edition of a semi-regular YouTube show that goes out on the official Android Developers YouTube channel.
Getting my detective hat on, I think this proves what we thought last year after 2024’s Google I/O, which was incredibly heavy on artificial intelligence information and very, very light on Android.
Google is all-in on Gemini, its AI platform, and it will very likely be using I/O – both online and in person – to be an event centred on that. While Android is one of the main platforms for delivering Gemini, be it through the app or baked into the user interface, Google has chosen to switch I/O to be AI and developer focussed.
This could be in part to Android’s maturity. Where in the last decade a new Android version could mean a dramatic visual overhaul and tons of new exciting features, that is no longer the case. This year, Google will preview Android 16, which is likely to be an extension of the major redesign we saw with Android 12 and Google’s Material You design language.
It means Google struggles to fill a whole presentation with what’s new, and it now prefers to pile on the AI chat instead.
Some of the mooted new features for Android 16 include an updated photo picker UI, under the hood improvements to camera performance, better privacy functions and perhaps some visual changes here and there.
These are some of the changes that have been rumoured or seen in early beta versions of the software. If you want to find out what’s new, or if Google has successfully kept a major Android announcement under wraps, be sure to tune in to The Android Show on May 13.