Android 15: All the new features, eligible devices, and release date Chris Mendez | usagoldmines.com

After months of testing and a number of other beta builds, Android 15 has lastly hit steady launch. Google rolled out the steady construct to Pixels on October 15, and different units will comply with go well with over the approaching weeks and months.

Whereas there wasn’t loads of pleasure round Android 14, there’s loads of new stuff in Android 15. Google is introducing welcome tweaks to navigation with predictive again gestures, up to date notifications, and a set of foldable options. I examined each beta construct of Android 15 and simply bought began with the steady launch, and that is what it’s essential to know in regards to the newest model of Android.

Android 15 launch timeline

(Picture credit score: Google)

Google was initially slated to launch Android 15 in Q3, the steady construct was pushed again. Fortunately, the steady Android 15 launch is now accessible, and as of October 15, eligible Pixel units can set up the replace.

Whereas Google would not use codenames in public-facing documentation, all Android releases nonetheless have inside dessert codenames, and Android 15 is designated Vanilla Ice Cream. Like earlier years, you’ll be able to set up the beta on Google units, however the Pixel 5 sequence is not eligible — solely the Pixel 6 and upwards will decide up the replace. Here is the checklist of units:

Pixel 6
Pixel 6 Professional
Pixel 6a
Pixel 7
Pixel 7 Professional
Pixel 7a
Pixel 8
Pixel 8 Professional
Pixel 9
Pixel 9 Professional
Pixel 9 Professional XL
Pixel 9 Professional Fold
Pixel Fold
Pixel Pill

The Android beta program debuted on the best Android phones, with most main producers getting in on the motion. That mentioned, the units listed beneath will change over to their producer’s skins — based mostly on Android 15 — over the approaching weeks. As such, the checklist beneath serves as a superb information to which non-Pixel units will get the Android 15 replace forward of different telephones:

Honor: Honor Magic 6 Professional, Honor Magic V2
Xiaomi: Xiaomi 14, Xiaomi 13T Professional, Xiaomi Pad 6S Professional 12.4
OnePlus: OnePlus 12, OnePlus Open
OPPO: Discover X7
Vivo: Vivo X100
iQOO: iQOO 12
Nothing: Nothing Telephone 2a
Realme: Realme 12 Professional+ 5G
Lenovo: Lenovo Tab Excessive
Sharp: Sharp Aquos sense8
Tecno: Tecno Camon 30 Professional 5G

As regular, Samsung units aren’t on the checklist, and ASUS is a notable omission. If in case you have a Galaxy cellphone, you have to to attend a short time; Samsung often rolls out its One UI beta shortly after the steady Android launch, so there should not be a prolonged wait.

Theft Detection Lock secures your machine information

Google is leveraging AI to safeguard your machine within the occasion of a theft with a characteristic dubbed Theft Detection Lock. Principally, the characteristic depends in your cellphone’s accelerometer to find out if somebody has snatched your machine and is making an attempt to run, bike, or drive away, and it instantly locks the machine.

Distant Lock means that you can remotely lock your machine, and it really works on conjunction with Find My Device. Google is including further measures to discourage thieves accessing delicate info, equivalent to authentication when eradicating a SIM card or disabling Discover My System.

Non-public Area offers you an extra layer of safety

This characteristic has been round on a number of Chinese language skins, and I take advantage of it fairly a bit every time I am testing a cellphone working ColorOS. And with Android 15, Google is integrating Non-public Area into Android, so it will likely be accessible on all units.

The characteristic means that you can lock delicate apps locked away in a separate part that wants an extra layer of authentication. As soon as locked, these apps do not present up within the app drawer or the overview menu, they usually’re squirreled away inside a brand new consumer profile. Any information that is generated — photographs, movies, and paperwork — can also be hidden.

Notification cooldown turns down the noise

(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

Notification cooldown is a good new characteristic that lowers the quantity of incoming notifications whenever you get successive notifications from the identical app. So when you’re in a gaggle chat and begin getting fixed notifications, Android 15 robotically lowers the quantity of subsequent notifications. What’s nice is which you can choose this setting for simply conversations, or all apps. As somebody who would not like getting many notification alerts (I take advantage of DND many of the day), it is a nice new addition, and one which I’ll use to good impact.

Keyboard vibration will get its personal toggle

(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

Android 15 is including a system-wide toggle to allow or disable keyboard vibration. You would do that beforehand by going right into a keyboard’s settings and toggle the characteristic individually, however the possibility to take action at a system-wide degree that works throughout keyboards is an efficient addition. Google can also be integrating a slider that allows you to modify the depth of haptic suggestions, much like what OPPO does with ColorOS.

The brightness slider vibrates now

(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

In a bid to convey higher suggestions throughout the system, Google is including haptic suggestions to the brightness slider in Android 15. The impact could be very refined — it is not on the identical degree because the nav gesture depth, however it’s nonetheless nice that you just get some quantity of suggestions when adjusting the brightness.

Partial display screen recording allows you to share solely what’s wanted

(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

Google took its candy time integrating a display screen recorder into Android, and by the point it added it, all different manufacturers had their very own tackle the characteristic, which was often higher. Anyway, Android 15 is getting an replace that allows you to take partial display screen recording. As an alternative of recording the whole display screen by default, now you can choose to report a person app, and it will not present the remainder of the display screen and notifications.

Bluetooth tile is definitely helpful

(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

Google moved the Wi-Fi and mobile connection tiles to a single tile referred to as Web, and it’s a fixed supply of frustration because it provides one other step if I simply need to toggle my dwelling web on or off. Against this, the Bluetooth tile — which may have really benefitted with this performance — was an ordinary toggle that turned the Bluetooth radio or on off.

Fortunately, Google is addressing this difficulty in Android 15, and a brief press on the Bluetooth tile now pulls up a dialog field much like the Web one — you get to see your paired units, and you’ve got the flexibility to simply change between units, and there is the choice to toggle Bluetooth connectivity. If you wish to pair a brand new machine, hitting the + icon on the backside of the dialog field to drag up the Bluetooth settings web page and join a brand new machine.

Samsung’s One UI and Nothing OS already use this technique, and it is good to see Google baking it into Android.

Android 15 allows edge-to-edge shows

With Android 15, apps can present content material that covers the whole width of the show, so when you have the gesture recognition bar enabled on the backside of the web page, you will see content material on both aspect of it. This could make content material look somewhat extra immersive — significantly whenever you’re utilizing a pill.

Higher continuity and multitasking on foldables

(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

Google is lifting a characteristic that debuted on the OnePlus Open that switches no matter motion you are doing on the internal display screen to the duvet display screen whenever you fold a tool. It is a very helpful characteristic, and different foldables just like the Honor Magic V2 even have it. With it being built-in into Android 15, we must always see it heading to much more foldables sooner or later.

Multitasking can also be getting an improve, and now you can save split-screen app combos to launch each on the similar time.

Android 15 ought to have higher optimization

(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

Google is making it simpler for sport and app makers to instantly entry the {hardware}, and the Android Dynamic Efficiency Framework consists of a set of APIs that enable higher optimization, and in Android 15, Google is introducing a power-efficiency mode that is designed for “long-running background workloads.” That is to make sure any background apps do not make the most of extra system sources than obligatory.

In an analogous vein, Google is rolling out new thermal thresholds that ought to make a distinction with throttling. Even the newest telephones with highly effective {hardware} wrestle with throttling points in demanding titles, and I am excited to see if this alteration makes a distinction in real-world use.

And as for the interface as a complete, Google is including smoother transitions, so Android 15 ought to really feel fluid when you’re on a tool that has a excessive refresh panel.

Android 15 rolls out an HQ webcam mode

(Picture credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

You may use your phone as a webcam, and with Android 15, Google is rolling out an HQ mode that makes a distinction to video high quality. There’s now a toggle that allows you to allow HQ mode, and it affords higher element decision. The one difficulty is that your machine will get noticeably heat, however it’s a good addition nonetheless

Android 15 has an always-active taskbar

(Picture credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

Android 15 DP2 brings a brand new characteristic to the Pixel Fold and Android tablets that permits a persistent taskbar on the backside of the display screen. Different manufacturers supply this characteristic as customary on their foldables, so it’s good to see Google including it natively in Android 15.

Android 15 allows you to share audio like its the ’90s

(Picture credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)

One other new characteristic in Android 15 is the flexibility to pay the identical audio throughout a number of headphones — no must share earbuds. The Audio sharing sub-menu is positioned throughout the Linked units web page, and it allows you to forged music to a couple of Bluetooth machine at a time. It’s intuitive to make use of, and makes Bluetooth sharing a breeze.

Android 15 is now accessible

(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

After an intensive beta program, the steady Android 15 is lastly rolling out to Pixels, and ought to be accessible on different units shortly.

If historical past is any indication, Samsung and OnePlus will roll out their very own beta initiatives — utilizing the steady Android 15 construct as the inspiration — within the coming days. There is not any point out of that simply but, however I’ll replace this publish as quickly as I hear extra particulars. Within the meantime, when you do not need to wait and want Android 15 now, your finest guess is to get a Pixel.