When will Google release Android 10? Download date for Pixel owners revealed
After months of speculation, last week Google finally announced that the new version of Android, known until now as Q, will be called Android 10.
What Google didn't announce at the time is exactly when the new smartphone update will be available for everyone to download. But now, thanks to a couple of Google Support agents letting on more than they should, we know Android 10 will land on September 3, 2019.
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This news comes from PhoneArea, which used the Google Support website's live chat service to ask when Android 10 will be available. Both agents said the same date.
This means that users of all Google Pixel phones - even the original Pixel and Pixel XL from back in 2016 - will get the upgrade to Android 10 on September 3. All Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 handsets, including the cut-price Pixel 3, will also get the update. The Pixel 4, expected to be announced this fall, will come with Android 10 out of the box.
But, as many Android users know all too well, owners of non-Google Android will be in for a lengthy wait before they can upgrade to version 10. This is because each manufacturer - Samsung, LG, OnePlus, Huawei etc - needs to look at the new version of Android, then modify it to make it work correctly on their phones, and with their unique user interfaces. It also depends on which phone network you use.
Not every manufacturer has said when they'll release Android 10 just yet. But for a sense of context, it is likely that Samsung will bring Android 10 to its Galaxy S10 phones sometime in December or January, depending on which country you are in, and which mobile carrier you use.
The newly released Note 10 will be joining the Android 10 party a little later, with the update likely arriving sometime between late-January and March, depending on your location and network.
As for other manufacturers, it's going to be a bit of a waiting game. LG is often quite slow to update its handsets while Nokia is quicker thanks to its use of the Android One user interface, instead of its own highly-customized version. OnePlus is also good at pushing updates out quickly, and several already have access to the Android 10 beta.
For now, all we can say is Pixel owners should get Android 10 from September 3 (or a few days later if Google rolls the software out gradually), while owners of other handsets shouldn't expect anything until 2020.
