If there’s one silver lining in 2025, it could be Google’s plan to release the Android 16 beta sooner than usual. Google dropped the first developer preview of Android 15 in November, which strongly suggests that One UI 8.0 might make an early appearance in 2025. Even if the stable release isn’t imminent, the beta version is likely to arrive sooner rather than later. In fact, Samsung has already quietly begun internal testing of One UI 8.0 about two weeks ago.
Android 16 beta 1 could arrive on January 22
Now, Android Authority is spilling more beans our way, citing a Googler who left a comment on the Android Gerrit. According to which, Android 16’s third beta will drop on March 12. The same comment also hints at two earlier dates: January 22 and February 19. While not confirmed, these might be when the first and second betas hit the scene. Fingers crossed, right? After that, Google could squeeze in a couple more beta builds in April and May for some final spit and polish before the stable release releases in Q2 2025.
| Android 16 Beta 1 | January 22 |
| Android 16 Beta 2 | February 19 |
| Android 16 Beta 3 | March 12 |
| Android 16 Stable Release | Q2 2025 |
The One UI 7.0 beta has yet to arrive on Galaxy S23 phones, but fortunately, it’s releasing in stable form on January 22 with the Galaxy S25 series. That means it won’t take us long to run One UI 7.0 on eligible devices after the cat’s out of the bag. One reason why the One UI 7.0 has faced long delays is because Google delayed the Android 15 developer preview build in 2024. This means if Google plans on debuting the Android 16 beta early, we might as well see the One UI 8.0 debuting early too.
