Google Just Dropped A New Android 16 Beta, But It’s Not The One You’re Waiting For

For all intents and purposes, Google made Android 16 official today with a special I/O edition of The Android Show. The company announced that the new version will usher in a bouncy new era of playful animations with Material 3 Expressive, but not right away. Instead, Android 16 will go stable in June, right after a new beta program launches for Android 16 QPR1, which is the version where the new Expressive design is expected to make its debut.

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So we were understandably excited when we spotted new factory images and OTAs going up on Google’s beta servers — except these weren’t Android 16 QPR1 files. Instead, as Google announced on its subreddit, the new firmware is Android 16 Beta 4.1 — a bugfix release for the Expressive-less version that will make its stable debut in a few weeks.

The new version has a build number of BP22.250325.012 on most Pixels, and the release notes reek of finishing touches — a good sign for the stable release next month.

This should be the last update you accept if you want to go stable

Because Google is kicking off a new beta program for Android 16’s first Quarterly Platform Release (QPR1) before the stable version of Android 16 will be available, there’s a bit of a tricky situation for people wanting to hop off the beta roller coaster and onto the stable release channel.

When the Android 16 QPR1 beta launches later this month, people enrolled in the Android Beta Program will be offered the newer version. To switch to stable builds, you’ll have to refuse that update — instead, you must opt out of the beta program, at which point you’ll be offered another update to downgrade your phone to the latest Android 15 stable. To avoid losing data, you would need to refuse that update as well. Only when the official Android 16 stable update arrives in July should you accept any further OTAs.

But none of this applies to today’s update — considering this isn’t an Android 16 QPR1 beta, it still has a lower build date than the eventual Android 16 stable firmware. So it’s safe to accept this OTA, regardless of whether you plan on sticking with betas or going stable.

Rollout and availability details

Android 16 Beta 4.1 is being made available to the Pixel 6 and newer, and the update is already rolling out. Google says it may take a few days to reach everyone, but in our experience, it shows up right away after heading to Settings → System → Software updates → System update → Check for updates.