Theta Android News: Android 11 release date: When can you expect it to launch?

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Android 11 release date: When can you expect it to launch?

Google dropped Android 11 Developer Preview 1 on Wednesday, February 19, and the second preview on Wednesday, March 18. The company then released the third Android 11 Developer Preview on Thursday, April 23. There's surprisingly a lot to dig into considering these are very early builds of the OS.

If you don't want to install the Android 11 preview on your phone just yet, we wouldn't blame you. Again, these are very early builds, so you'll likely run into bugs and performance issues.

So, you're probably wondering when the official, consumer-ready Android 11 release date is happening. Google has outlined the three developer previews and three Android 11 beta builds that it expects to release over the coming months. Check out the details below:

Developer preview 1: Early baseline build focused on developer feedback, with new features, APIs, and behavior changes.
- Launched: February 19, 2020
Developer preview 1.1: Early maintenance update with bug fixes and performance improvements based on feedback thus far.
- Launched: March 4, 2020
Developer preview 2: Incremental update with additional features, APIs, and behavior changes.
- Launched: March 18, 2020
Developer preview 2.1: Early maintenance update with bug fixes and performance improvements based on feedback thus far.
- Launched: April 2, 2020
Developer preview 3: Incremental update for stability and performance.
- Launched: April 23, 2020
Beta 1: Initial beta-quality release, over-the-air update to early adopters who enroll in Android Beta.
Beta 2: Platform Stability milestone. Final APIs and behaviors. Play publishing opens.
Beta 3: Release candidate build.
Final release: Android 11 release to AOSP and ecosystem.

If you aren't a developer and don't want to install the full preview on your device using your computer, we've got some good news. Traditionally, Google rolls out the first Android beta build to eligible users during Google I/O each year. Google I/O 2020 is actually cancelled, but the company will likely release the first Android 11 beta build at around the same time of the year. Google I/O was supposed to take place May 12-14, so for the first beta build we can expect the Android 11 release date to be May 12, 2020.

You'll also notice that the Android 11 Beta 2 contains something called a Platform Stability milestone. Google says it wants developers to use this milestone as a target for planning final compatibility testing. By this point, Android 11 will have reached final internal and external APIs, final app behaviors, and final non-SDK graylists.

Google has provided a rough Android 11 release date timeline: