Google Allegedly Missed Android 14 Release Date

Google was set to release Android 14 around this time, and it typically delivers its new OS versions on its Pixel device lineup first. But right after OnePlus announced that it planned to aggressively roll out its customized version of Android 14, Google has apparently backed off from its original Pixel release schedule for some reason. And it’s not clear what’s going on.

As you may have seen, Google yesterday announced its new Android logo and its latest, regular, quarterly release of new Android features across all supported devices. This announcement confused many customers, however—one publication even went so far as to publish an article called Android 14 for Google Pixel is not out yet—because the community was literally waiting for that announcement. I was confused too, noting in my linked article above that “Google could finalize Android 14 any day now.”

Right now, it’s not clear when Google will release Android 14, to Pixels or otherwise. And it could obviously happen at any time, still. But concurrent to the mysterious silence, an Android enthusiast with good sources named Mishaal Rahman tweeted that “the source code release of Android 14,” which is given to hardware makers and forms the basis for the open AOSP (Android Open Source Project) version of Android has been delayed one month to October 4, 2023. And that date is interesting because that’s when Google will announce the Pixel 8 series. This has never happened before.

“[Hardware makers] were anticipating that the release would be today [September 5, yesterday now],” he added. “[Hardware makers] are now being told that vulnerabilities detailed in the Android 14 Security Release Notes will be published on October 4, 2023, so that may be the new release date … if this is true, it would be the first time that the AOSP release has been pushed back to coincide with the new Pixel device launch.”

Naturally, many are wondering why Google is delaying the release. Did Google find a last-minute security or bug issue with Android 14?  Rahman offers some clues and some speculation.

“To be clear … September 5, 2023 was the date they had planned FAR out in advance,” he continues later in his tweet thread. “I … don’t know how this may impact [hardware makers] like OnePlus [that] plan to launch their Android 14-based updates later this month. I don’t know if Google places a formal embargo on stable releases until the OS is released to AOSP.”

As Rahman notes, OnePlus announced last week—I missed this somehow—that it would release OxygenOS 14—its customized version of Android 14—on a very aggressive schedule and be “among the first” hardware makers to do so. OxygenOS 14 is set for a global launch on September 25, in about three weeks.

Having now written this, Google will of course announce the release of Android 14 today or tomorrow, nullifying this entire conversation. And it is possible that the release schedules of the past no longer apply: as many Pixel enthusiasts have noticed, Google missed its typical release date for monthly Pixel security updates at least twice in calendar 2023. Maybe that was a hint of a less stringent overall release schedule.

We’ll see.