The source code for Android 16 is now available, but OEMs like Samsung and Xiaomi have already had early access. Here's what that means.

When Android 16 was released, Google uploaded the main system code to AOSP as usual. But this time, the source code that is specific to Pixel phones was missing, as reported by Android Authority.

Google has denied that, but the Pixel change does look to be intentional. On Tuesday, Google released Android 16’s source code to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

These discoveries include references to “I/O 2025 Expressive talk code demos” and “lo talk” within Android's source code and developer libraries hosted on GitHub.

A recent report based on a leaked source code suggests that Google is preparing a desktop mode feature similar to Samsung's DeX and Motorola's Smart Connect big-screen interface.