When is Android P coming out, and what new features will it include? We explain when and what we expect to see from Android P.
What will Android 9.0 be called?
Since the early days of Android updates have been named after sweet treats and in alphabetical order. So far we've seen:
Android Donut (v1.6)
Android Eclair (v2.0)
Android Froyo (v2.2)
Android Gingerbread (v2.3)
Android Honeycomb (v3.0)
Android Ice Cream Sandwich (v4.0)
Android Jelly Bean (v4.1)
Android KitKat (v4.4)
Android Lollipop (v5.0)
Android Marshmallow (v6.0)
Android Nougat (v7.0)
Android Oreo (v8.0)
In 2018 we should see Android 'P' launch as Android 9.0. The name won't be announced until the summer, but that doesn't stop us having a guess as to what it could be.
There are already rumours the name could be Android Pie, Android Pecan Pie or Android Pumpkin Pie, thanks to a reference to Android Pi within the Android Open Source Project. But that doesn't sound very Google.
Our favourite is Android Popsicle, but vote in our poll below and add any other ideas to the comments at the bottom of this page.
When is Android 9.0 coming out?
Android 9.0 will most likely be announced during Google I/O 2018, which we expect to take place in mid-May, potentially 16-18 May 2018. It is possible we'll see an earlier release in March, as we did in 2017 with Oreo.
At this point a Developer Preview will be released, which can be installed on recent Google Pixel devices but should really be left to those who now what they're doing.
A few public betas will follow, and we expect to see the final consumer release in August 2018.
When will my phone get Android 9.0?
Although Android 9.0 will be released in August 2018, it won't be immediately available to all Android devices. The update will first be available to Google Pixel devices, and then we'll start to see new phones arriving with Android P out of the box at September's IFA 2018 show.
Android updates are rolled out by phone manufacturers and network operators rather than Google itself, because any Android updates must first be tweaked to work with any customisations they have made.
Those with vanilla interfaces - such as Nokia, which has already confirmed Android P updates for all 2017 phones - will be among the first to roll out the update, then the likes of Samsung, LG, Sony and HTC will begin rolling out Android 9.0 in late 2018/early 2019.
OTA updates, when they do arrive, are expected to download and install faster and use less data thanks to Google's Brotli compression algorithm.
There's also no guarantee that your device will be updated to Android 9.0 (see how to update Android). Device fragmentation is still a problem for the OS, and at the last count (by Android Developers) on 8 January there were still devices running version 2.3.3 Gingerbread.
Version Codename Distribution 2.3.3-2.3.7 Gingerbread 0.4% 4.0.3-4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich 0.5% 4.1.x Jelly Bean 1.9% 4.2.x Jelly Bean 2.9% 4.3 Jelly Bean 0.8% 4.4 KitKat 12.8% 5.0 Lollipop 5.7% 5.1 Lollipop 19.4% 6.0 Marshmallow 28.6% 7.0 Nougat 21.1% 7.1 Nougat 5.2% 8.0 Oreo 0.5% 8.1 Oreo 0.2%
What new features to expect in Android 9.0
There have been very few rumours so far as to what we can expect from Android P, though XDA suggests Google will remove access to unofficial APIs (those not part of the official SDK) - news that will upset some developers.
Other changes we can expect to see in the upcoming update, according to the enthusiast site, include support for Wi-Fi Direct Printing support and Bluetooth hearing aids, and better integration for Android Things.
Things we would like to see include a faster rollout and less defragmentation among devices, improved Picture-in-Picture app support, and further enhancements on battery life and performance. What would you like to see in Android P? Let us know in the comments.
Read next: Best Android phones available right now
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