New Pixel phones aren’t just a big deal for people in the market for, well, new Pixel phones. They also arrive with the new major build of Android, meaning new features and other goodies for owners of older Pixels, too. But this year you’ll have to wait a bit longer. The Pixel 9 family is shipping with Android 14, and Android 15 won’t be available until October at the earliest.
That’s kind of a bummer, giving the new phones a less impactful launch and meaning current owners will have to make do with the beta releases of Android 15 that have been out for the last few months. Don’t hop on that beta right away, though: In order to get off the beta and onto the Android 15 release (or to downgrade to Android 14), you’ll have to wipe your phone’s data.
Android Authority spotted an update message for beta users, confirming that the Android 15 final release won’t be available until October. It’s currently scheduled to release for the Pixel 6 series and newer (including the Pixel Tablet). Since fast and “clean” software is one of the signature features of Google’s self-branded Pixel phones, even a month delay is a definite downnote for users.
Why the long pause? Google isn’t saying, but Android Authority thinks it’s to increase stability for the new OS release. Considering how deeply Google is trying to integrate Gemini AI into the system, and thus push users for a pricey upgrade after that free trial is finished, it makes sense.
That being said, I wonder if Android fans would prefer a faster upgrade to version 15, or a delayed one with more of the AI Google has been talking about non-stop this year. No prize for guessing which one I’d pick.