Android 15 release date leaked by Google employee, and it is a short wait

Android 15 is still not here, and that is strange because, by this time last year, Android 14’s first developer preview had already dropped. The cycle of a new Android version starts with the first developer preview, which, for Android 14, started on February 8. So, it was fair to assume that the Android 15 Developer Preview will be released around the same time. While that did not happen, Google may be almost ready to drop the first developer preview of Android 15 later this week, if a Google employee is to be believed.

Folks at 9to5Google spotted a comment posted by a Google engineer on an AOSP summit page. It highlighted that Android 15’s “first Developer preview is scheduled for Feb 15,” which is tomorrow, Thursday. The Googler referred to Android 15 as Android V, which could be the short form for Vanilla Ice Cream, which is the codename for the next Android version. The post on the summit page of the Android Open Source Project, if not anything else, hints at the possible release date, but Google has not confirmed anything right now.

As and when the Android 15 Developer Preview 1 arrives, it will be available on Pixel devices first. While anyone with one of the supported Pixel phones (Pixel 6 or higher) can install the developer preview, it is aimed only at developers. Over the past few years, Google has made installing preview builds slightly more difficult as the process now requires flashing image files manually. OTA updates only become available when the new version is ready for the Android Beta Program. Since the developer preview builds are intended for OEMs and app developers to test the new software and provide feedback, making the installation process easy is not even a priority.

That being said, if you are comfortable with the process, you can go ahead and install the first Android 15 Developer Preview whenever it arrives. The Pixel 6 and higher models will likely be supported because, even though, the Pixel 5a’s guaranteed updates end in August 2024, its timeline does not match with the stable release time frame of Android 15. The Android 15 update is expected to bring a new Private Space — much like Samsung’s Secure Folder, revive lock screen widgets, and make full-screen apps mandatory.