Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The Android 15 source code will be released next week, according to multiple sources.
- The source code will allow Android platform developers to build modified versions of Android 15.
- Major OEMs have already had access to Android 15’s source code, giving them a head start on preparing updates.
With the release of Beta 4.2 a few weeks ago, Android 15 is almost here. Excluding the point releases, there have been a total of six preview releases of Android 15, starting with Developer Preview 1 in February. Although Google’s official Android 15 release timeline only pegs the final public release as happening sometime later this year, Android Authority can now report that the release will happen next week.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
According to multiple sources, the final public release of Android 15 to AOSP is planned for Tuesday, September 3, 2024. The reason it’s next Tuesday instead of next Monday is that September 2, 2024, is a federal holiday in the US (Labor Day). Thus, many Googlers won’t be working that day. For reference, here’s a table that shows when the last ten years of major Android versions were released.
| Android 14 | October 4, 2023 |
| Android 13 | August 15, 2022 |
| Android 12L | March 7, 2022 |
| Android 12 | October 4, 2021 |
| Android 11 | September 8, 2020 |
| Android 10 | September 3, 2019 |
| Android 9 | August 6, 2018 |
| Android 8.1 | December 5, 2017 |
| Android 8.0 | August 21, 2017 |
| Android 7.1 | October 4, 2016 |
| Android 7.0 | August 22, 2016 |
| Android 6.0 | October 5, 2015 |
| Android 5.1 | March 9, 2015 |
| Android 5.0 | November 12, 2014 |
AOSP stands for the Android Open Source Project, the public repository for Android’s source code. By releasing Android 15’s source code to AOSP, independent platform developers (i.e., those who build their own custom ROMs) and companies that aren’t Android Partners will be able to build modified versions of Android 15 for their own devices.
Thanks to Google’s trunk stable project, though, much of Android 15’s source code is technically already available in AOSP. That’s why Android 15 features such as Private Space were able to be demonstrated on Android 14 QPR3 builds. Regardless, it’s been a few months since Android 14 QPR3’s release, so some code and, more importantly, the default Android 15 build flags and Android feature flags aren’t present in AOSP yet.
Although the Android 15 source code will be released next week, Android Authority has learned that the corresponding Android 15 update for Pixel phones will not roll out simultaneously. Our reporting on the status of the Pixel’s Android 15 update can be found here. A spokesperson for Google told me that the company had nothing to share when I reached out for a comment.
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