After releasing the first beta of Android 16 back in January, Google is now ready to ship out Android 16 Beta 2 for your Pixel device to download. This latest release brings us one early step closer to the full release of Android 16 that should happen in Q2.
Like the previous beta release, Android 16 Beta 2 is available to the Pixel 6 up through the newest Pixel 9 series. The list also includes the A-series devices within that range, as well as foldables and the Pixel Tablet.
WHAT’S NEW IN ANDROID 16 BETA 2: Since that first beta release, we’ve been running Android 16 on a Pixel 9 Pro to see how stable it is and if anything new and interesting might pop up that we can share. We’re still not finding any big splashy new features, because Google mostly saves those ideas for its Pixel line-up with feature drops each quarter. That doesn’t mean we won’t get anything before this goes stable, though.
For Android 16 Beta 2, Google has shared the developer changes to be on the lookout for if you are a developer. Google says that professional camera users will love Android 16’s support for hybrid auto exposure with precise color temperature and tint adjustments, standard intent actions for Motion Photo captures, HEIC encoding support and UltraHDR improvements.
After the camera stuff, this Beta 2 gets pretty developer-y. Google shared a blog post to detail everything, and it covers things like health and fitness permissions going granular, new API for live wallpapers for the system to better handle those, standardized picture and audio quality framework for TVs, and some other stuff. We’ve linked that blog post below for those who might be interested.
Release date: February 13, 2025
Build: BP22.250124.009
Emulator support: x86 (64-bit), ARM (v8-A)
Security patch level: February 2025
Google Play services: 25.04.30
DOWNLOAD ANDROID 16 BETA 2 ON PIXEL: Want to get Beta 2 up and running on your Pixel device? It’s easy at this point to do so, as you aren’t being asked to flash images or OTA files any longer. You can! You just don’t need to.
Here’s the full list of Android 16 Beta devices:
- Pixel 6 and 6 Pro
- Pixel 6a
- Pixel 7 and 7 Pro
- Pixel 7a
- Pixel Fold
- Pixel Tablet
- Pixel 8 and 8 Pro
- Pixel 8a
- Pixel 9
- Pixel 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, and 9 Pro Fold
And here are your options to get Android 16 Beta 2 on your device:
- Easiest way: If you own one of those devices, the easiest way to get Android 16 Beta 2 is to sign-up for the Android Beta Program (here). You’ll simply click the “Opt In” button next to your device on that page to join and then sit back and wait for Google to push an update as Android 16 over-the-air.
- Already on an Android 16 DP or Beta build: If you are already on an Android 16 Developer Preview or Beta build, Google says that you will receive the Beta 2 update over-the-air. Of course, you can manually flash a factory image or OTA file as well, since the over-the-air process often takes forever to process.
- Flash an image: Want to get updated faster or would rather flash a factory image or OTA file through adb to feel more techie and important and smart? That’s always an option! I’ll be going the OTA route, but factory images will be available too. You’ll find Android 16 Beta 2 factory images here and the OTA files here. For instructions on how to flash a factory image, here you go. For instructions on how to flash an OTA .zip file, here you go.
Time to dive in and see what else we can find!