With the announcement that the iodéOS 7 beta (based on LineageOS 23 / Android 16) has been made available, I wanted to take the opportunity to further explain the iodéOS release cadence with regard to the frequency and responsiveness of updates incorporating various upstream security, feature, and bug fixes.
iodéOS release timing for major Android version upgrades
Looking at LineageOS 23, it was officially released in the second week of October, 2025. This then marks 5-6 weeks from that point until the iodéOS 7 beta was made public. While there aren’t huge feature changes when looking at the end product when compared to iodéOS 6, it still takes a fair bit of work to make sure that the major version change is ready for general use, incorporating any underlying changes in the underlying AOSP base, ensuring upgrading can proceed smoothly, etc. You can look back to see a similar timeline in making iodéOS 6, based on LineageOS 22 / Android 15 available. While waiting for the new major version of iodéOS, devices continue to get the monthly updates (explained below) for the current iodéOS version which remains supported beyond the migration to the new version. The final, “stable” release for the major version upgrade is dependent on feedback from the beta. In the case of iodéOS 7, there don’t seem to be any major blockers that have been identified yet but still the official release will only happen “when it is ready” (keep an eye on your iodé News app for the announcement!)
iodéOS release timing for monthly updates
Looking further at our release cadence, I would also like to note that monthly iodéOS OTA updates usually come at the end of the month in order to be able to incorporate the monthly updates from LineageOS which are usually made available mid-month. Occasionally they may be delayed a bit due to Lineage in turn having had to delay their release for various reasons, but by all means we look to make the updated builds with incorporated security, feature, and bug fixes as soon as we are able.
Do note that major version upgrades and monthly OTA updates include all “platform” security, bug, and feature updates from us and from LineageOS, as well as any upstream manufacturer specific hardware related security, bug, and feature updates to their firmware, drivers, etc. for the underlying Android version.
A note on manufacturer specific security updates
In the case of a major Android upgrade like iodéOS 7 moving to the Android 16 base finally enables manufacturer updates that they only made available for the newer Android 16 base and didn’t release as updates for Android 15 or earlier. So while the delay for iodéOS users in getting the “most current vendor patches for the newest Android version” is on the order of a few months for a new Android version while LineageOS works hard to re-base and then we re-base on LineageOS, once we are on the same major version as current Android then manufacturer-specific security updates get applied monthly, if there are any made available.
A note on devices no longer receiving manufacturer updates
In the case of devices that no longer receive manufacturer specific updates, then general platform security, bug, and feature updates continue to be applied thanks to the LineageOS base. This is why a device can have up-to-date iodéOS builds including even major Android version upgrades for it long past the date that the device has been abandoned by the manufacturer. While some may consider these devices “insecure” due to them not receiving manufacturer specific security updates to their firmware and drivers, I would suggest that system and user-level security vulnerabilities are the most common threat vectors and these are mitigated through the platform updates described above.
Finally a note on devices that aren’t able to run the newer iodéOS version
In the case of older devices that are not able to run the newer iodéOS version, this is often due to them not having updated LineageOS builds available for them, and porting them to the newer base version falls beyond the scope of what we can provide. At the same time, there are still occasional iodéOS minor updates released for these devices as needed for the older iodéOS version they are running.