After five betas, a couple of developer previews, and months of anticipation, it felt like today could’ve been Christmas for the Android enthusiast community. But rather than waking up this morning to find a new stable OS upgrade waiting to be installed on your phone, all Google had to offer was aQuarterly Feature Droppaired with alogo redesign. If it feels likeAndroid 14should’ve arrived today, there might be something to that theory, as it sounds like a last-minute delay was responsible for any disappointment you might be feeling.
According toMishaal Rahman on Twitter(aka X), the Android 14 source code was originally intended to be released today, with OEMs expecting its arrival alongside consumers. Instead, the entire launch — AOSP and Pixel builds alike — has been reportedly pushed back to October 4th, adding nearly a full month onto its development time. If that date sounds familiar to you, it’s because that’s when Google will be holding its nextMade by Google event, presumably to launch the Pixel 8, Pixel Watch 2, and anything else the company has up its sleeve.
Rahman says OEMs are being told that any vulnerability detailed in its Security Release Notes for Android 14 won’t be published until that October 4th date, suggesting a stable build may not arrive until the day we learn all about Google’s latest hardware. It would also, as Rahman notes, mark the first time the AOSP build has coincided with a Pixel launch, though it’s not the first time the two dates have flirted with each other.
An October release for Android 14 would be similar to Android 12’s launch two years ago. On October 4th, 2021, the companypushed Android 12 to AOSP, but the build for Pixel devicesdidn’t actually arrive until October 19th, the day Google announced the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Considering this year’s event is earlier in the month, we could see a simultaneous push to AOSP and Pixels alongside the company’s new collection of smartphones. After all, both AOSP and Pixel builds landed near-simultaneously for Android 11 and Android 13, with consumers getting OTA upgrades within a day or so.
This year’s Made by Google event could double as Android 14’s launch.
If this delay is true, expect it to affect when current OEMs upgrade their lineup of smartphones to the latest version of Android. Samsung rolled out itssecond One UI 6 beta last week, but we’re likely still more than a month away before a stable build begins rolling out. OnePlus, on the other hand, announced it woulddeliver OxygenOS 14 on September 25th, over a week before this rumored date. If Google isn’t ready to push Android 14 to AOSP, expect that date to get pushed back.
Since swapping to its custom Tensor chipsets, Google has had its fair share of slip-ups when it comes to timely updates. The Pixel 6 was notorious in its first year for constantly missing security patches, even when those monthly releases contained high-priority bug fixes. Even the Pixel 7 series hasn’t completely solved this problem;this year’s March update, for example, wasn’t pushed until the month was nearly halfway over.
Of course, this particular delay isn’t quite as public; Rahman’s date is, after all, not official confirmation. For its part, Google hasn’t announced anything, and considering the last word on Android 14’s launch date was a generic"weeks away" comment back when Beta 5 landed, it’stechnicallynot late. Even if, you know, it sure feels like it is.
