Google’s got two big launches ahead – Android 12 and Pixel 6 – but the company hasn’t officially revealed the launch dates for either.
Now, however, thanks to an internal document (unearthed by XDA Developers’ Mishaal Rahman), we have a pretty good idea when it may happen.
The document Rahman has shared is the schedule for Android’s AOSP (Android Open Source Project) releases, which typically coincide with public releases of new Android versions. For Android 12, the document states Oct. 4, 2021 for the AOSP release, meaning we may see the public launch of Android 12 on that date as well. For example, last year, Android 11 AOSP was released on the same date – Sept. 8 – as the stable, public version of the Android 11 for Pixel phones.
This also makes it fairly likely that the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro will launch on or after Oct. 4, since Google probably wouldn’t ship its new flagship devices without Android 12 on board.
Google has shared quite a bit of info on the Pixel 6, including official renders and a teaser video (which, by the way, says the phone is coming “this fall”).
The Pixel 6 will be a 6.4-inch phone with a dual camera, while the Pixel 6 Pro will have a 6.7-inch display and a triple rear camera. Both will run Android 12, and both will be powered by Google’s new Tensor chipset.
It’s worth noting that new Pixels are typically the first phones to get major new versions of Android. If you have a phone from a different manufacturer, such as Samsung or Xiaomi, you might have to wait a while; as Engadget points out, it took Samsung three months to start deploying Android 11 on its phones after it was made available.
