Android: Releases, patches & end-of-life
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Lifecycle guide for Android from Google

All releases, patches, maintenance and support periods at a glance

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📅 Last update on 2026-04-17

What is Android?

Automate product release and end-of-life managementAndroid is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance and commercially sponsored by Google.
 

The entire lifecycle of Android

The following figure shows you the visualised product life cycle of Android. You can see all releases with the latest patch version, the long-term support characteristics (orange flag in the green circle, the periods for version provision, maintenance and support.
Android (Google) release, version and end-of-life information
XAndroid (Google) release, version and end-of-life information
Figure: Release, patch and end-of-life cycle of product Android (Google)
 

What is the Android release strategy?

Major versions of Android are released once a year now, prior to the launch of their Pixel phones.

Facts and figures about Android

Product
Android
Vendor
Google
Latest version
17
Number of releases
13
Number of versions
24
Number of unstable versions
0
Number of versions affected by CVE
13
Licence
Apache License 2.0 for userspace software and GNU GPL v2 for the Linux kernel modifications
Licence details
https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)
 
 

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Lukas Böttcher
Lukas Böttcher
Business Development Manager
P:  +49-30-221986-51
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