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‘The future is here; it is just not widely distributed’ is an oft-quoted statement, and it could apply equally to Android 15.
While Android 15 is “out”, most people will not get their hands on it until OEMs like Samsung, OnePlus, and even Google start rolling it out to users.
The first Android 15 Beta was released on April 11 and unveiled a range of enhancements and innovative features — including a new approach to notification controls, boosted game performance, an “even dimmer” night mode, screen sharing protection, and better foldable support.
It has been followed by Android 15 Beta 1.2 in April, Android Beta 2.1 in May, and Android Beta 3.1 in July.
But when will Android 15 — known internally as Vanilla Ice Cream — start rolling out to the current generation of Android phones?
Join us as we explore Android 15 news and rumors, from UI updates to performance and security features.
Android 15 Release Date
Expected Release: From October 2024 Onwards
At the end of August, Google confirmed that Android 15 would launch in October after changing the release notes for the Android Beta Exit update. It stated that users should “ignore OTA until Android 15 is available in October.”
This is slightly longer than expected. Many speculated that the final release would be on August 13, 2024, when Google released the Pixel 9 series. In any case, it’s not too long to wait until the Android 15 release date.
For Pixel owners, we expect Android 15 to arrive in October 2024, with Samsung devices following ‘later this year‘.
The Android 15 tracker is a useful guide for the hundreds of Android models out there.
Latest Android 15 News
Here is the latest Android 15 news:
Android 15 Source Code Now Available to AOSP
Today we're releasing Android 15 to AOSP! 🎉 → https://t.co/RApXp4yH6s#Android15 brings:
🌟 Improved typography & internationalization
🌟 Productive developer experience
🌟 Camera and media improvements
🌟 Privacy and security enhancements
and more!— Android Developers (@AndroidDev) September 3, 2024
On September 3, Google announced it was releasing Android 15 and making the source code available at the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).
“Android 15 continues our mission of building a private and secure platform that helps improve your productivity while giving you new capabilities to produce beautiful apps, superior media, and camera experiences, and an intuitive user experience, particularly on tablets and foldables,” the announcement blog post said.
Android 15 QPR1 Beta Rollout
Also in August, Google announced the launch of the Android 15 Quarterly Platform Release 1 (QPR1) Beta 1, a beta open to Google Pixel 9 and 9 Pro XL users that offers a fix to problems with random reboots and a new dialog that welcomes the user to the Lock Screen widgets feature.
The Android 15 beta program comes shortly after Google announced the release of Android 15 Beta 4 in July, a developer preview that added features including a Low-Light Boost for the camera, in-app camera controls, support for midi 2.0 devices, satellite support, and more.
Android 15 Features: What’s New?
The features coming in Android 15 include:
App Archiving
Introduced last year in Google Play, app archiving has been great for Android users. It allows them to reclaim significant storage space by partially removing seldom-used apps while retaining user data.
With Android 15, this feature gains an even deeper integration into the operating system. It offers built-in support for archiving and unarchiving, simplifying implementation across all app stores.
Android 15 enhances this functionality by allowing apps with the REQUEST_DELETE_PACKAGES permission to request archiving through the PackageInstaller’s requestArchive method. This process removes the APK and cached files but keeps the user data intact.
The first Beta of #Android15 is now live!
➡ Edge-to-edge by default
➡ App archiving
➡ App-managed profilingAnd more! → https://t.co/FPlFKvswcO pic.twitter.com/3veskw744o
— Android Developers (@AndroidDev) April 11, 2024
Archived apps remain accessible and are displayed with a distinct UI treatment via the LauncherApps APIs, ensuring users know these apps are archived but still retrievable.
If a user decides to access an archived app, the OS prompts the installer to unarchive it, a process that can be tracked via the ACTION_PACKAGE_ADDED broadcast. This seamless integration into Android 15 streamlines the user experience and sets a standard for how app stores can implement a more flexible and user-friendly approach to managing app storage.
Notification Cooldown
In other Android 15 news spotted in the beta, there is the welcome ability to further refine how users manage the ever-growing flurry of notifications on their devices. In previous versions, all notification channels created by an app were visible, potentially overwhelming users with information overload.
The latest Android version addresses this by hiding these inactive channels by default, simplifying the user experience and helping focus attention on the notifications that matter most. Users interested in fine-tuning their notification settings can easily choose to view these hidden channels, giving them complete control while maintaining an uncluttered interface.
This update has been on our Android 15 wishlist for a while. It promises to streamline notification management significantly, making it easier than ever to tailor alerts to personal preferences.
Satellite Connectivity Support
One of the standout Android 15 features will improve mobile connectivity by extending comprehensive support for satellite communications.
This update enhances the platform’s capacity to keep users connected even when traditional network services are out of reach. It also introduces vital UI elements to deliver a consistent user experience across satellite connectivity scenarios.
Additionally, new APIs enable apps to recognize when a device is linked to a satellite, which helps them understand and adapt to situations where complete network services might be unavailable.
Beyond emergency communications, Android 15 expands the functionality to everyday applications. SMS and RCS apps can send and receive messages through satellite connections, ensuring continuous communication capabilities regardless of terrestrial network availability.
This development promises a significant leap forward in providing users with a means to stay connected virtually anywhere.
Adaptive Touch
Smartphones may be for everyone — but it is not ‘one-size-fits-all’ for all environments and conditions.
Hence, adaptive touch allows you to tweak how responsive your phone is to touch. If your phone has a thick screen protector, setting touch sensitivity to maximum will account for this at a software level.
Similarly, atmospheric conditions like temperature may occasion a change in sensitivity.
This may be automatic, with your phone adapting to conditions on the fly.
Adaptive Timeout
Spotted as part of Beta 3, this looks to be a way to improve battery life and stop accidental unlocks — if your phone can tell it is placed in a bag or lying flat on a table without being used, it will turn the screen off.
Audio Sharing
Listening to music on Bluetooth headphones — let’s take, for example, being on a plane — and your friend wants to listen too?
That’s no problem. They can also connect their headphones to your phone, and you can both share the experience.
This may also have implications for speakers around your house. Multi-room broadcast without going down the Sonos route?
Private Space
Seen on some third-party phones, such as Samsung or Xiaomi, Private Space allows apps, data, photographs and more to be ring-fenced to a separate partition of the phone, accessed by biometrics or PIN codes.
If you want to keep your personal and work life separate on the device, keep files (even more) private, or perhaps ring-fence a “Kids mode”, Private Space effectively allows you to carry two phones in one.
Enhanced Bluetooth Functionality
Android 15 enhances the management of Bluetooth connections, offering a more intuitive and efficient experience through Quick Settings. Previously, users could only toggle Bluetooth on or off via this menu, but with the latest update, the functionality expands significantly.
Now, when tapping the Bluetooth icon in Quick Settings, a popup dialog appears, providing options to connect or disconnect from paired devices, access settings for individual devices, and initiate pairing with new accessories.
This upgraded feature allows smoother transitions between different Bluetooth accessories and simplifies managing connections, which is especially useful for those with multiple Bluetooth devices.
New ‘Even Dimmer’ Feature Enhances Nighttime Use
Android 15 is poised to introduce a feature called “even dimmer,” which will enhance the usability of devices in low-light conditions, such as when using your phone in bed.
Building on the existing “extra dim” functionality, which reduces screen brightness by toning down bright colors, the new “even dimmer” setting will allow the display to lower brightness beyond its current capabilities.
The feature is expected to be integrated under the “adaptive brightness” settings, making it more accessible and ensuring a comfortable viewing experience in darker environments.
By extending the brightness range downward, Android 15 aims to provide a more eye-friendly screen in scenarios where minimal light is preferable, thereby addressing user needs for less disruptive light exposure during nighttime usage.
Screen Sharing Safeguard
Android 15 is also gearing up to introduce a critical privacy feature that could significantly change how we share our screens. Dubbed “Sensitive content protection,” this new setting aims to shield personal notifications and messages from being displayed during screen shares, such as in presentations or video calls.
This feature’s necessity becomes evident in scenarios where unintentional leaks of private communications can occur, potentially leading to embarrassing or compromising situations.
While still under development, this feature promises to enhance user privacy by allowing users to designate which notifications or apps should be hidden during screen-sharing sessions.
This will probably be most welcomed by Android tablet users, who find screen-sharing to an external display a handy feature.
New Storage Health Insights
Android 15 is set to revolutionize how users manage their devices’ longevity with a new “Device Diagnostics” app feature. This feature will provide crucial insights into the remaining lifetime of a phone’s internal storage.
As storage chips degrade over time due to usage, this feature will help users gauge the health and operational capacity of their device’s storage.
By offering an estimated percentage of the storage chip’s remaining life, Android 15 allows users to better plan for hardware maintenance or upgrades, enhancing device management and reliability.
This move comes as part of Google’s broader initiative to give users more detailed information about their device’s key components, ensuring they have all the necessary tools to optimize and extend the life of their hardware.
‘ADPF’ Boosts App and Game Performance
The Android Dynamic Performance Framework (ADPF) is a robust suite of APIs designed to empower game developers and creators of performance-intensive apps to fine-tune their applications.
ADPF facilitates a more intimate interaction between these applications and Android devices’ power and thermal management systems, allowing for real-time monitoring and adjustments based on system performance metrics.
The direct interface helps maintain optimal performance without risking the device overheating. Critical features of ADPF include the ability to monitor thermal states, provide CPU performance hints, and optimize gameplay through user-configurable settings for either performance or battery life.
On supported devices, Android 15 will add new ADPF capabilities:
👉 A power-efficiency mode
👉 GPU and CPU work durations
👉 Thermal headroom thresholds#Android15 pic.twitter.com/6x4bZdRXuQ— Yash Rathore (@YashRathoreX) February 17, 2024
Furthermore, Android 15 introduces a new Power Efficiency Mode, reinforcing the framework’s commitment to balancing peak performance with energy efficiency. This ongoing development of ADPF ensures smoother, more responsive gaming experiences and enhances overall device sustainability under heavy loads.
Improved Foldable Support
Android 15 will improve how apps interact with a foldable phone‘s smaller yet fully capable cover displays. Developers can tailor their apps for these compact screens, ensuring a smoother user experience.
This improvement not only helps apps look and perform better on the outer displays but also allows for restricting less compatible apps to the main display only, enhancing overall device usability and performance.
The Bottom Line
Android is taking a much-needed sensible belts-and-braces approach to the Android 15 update, emphasizing subtle yet practical improvements.
For many fans, these thoughtful enhancements that address everyday inconveniences are far more valuable than flashy gimmicks that prioritize technology for the sake of technology over user needs.
That said, it is a little surprising to see nothing that screams artificial intelligence hidden in the beta at the OS level — maybe Google is leaving that to OEMs or keeping something up its sleeve?
