Android 15: everything you need to know

Google’s adjacent awesome update for smartphones is here. Android 15 rolled retired to Pixel devices connected October 15 and will trickle down to countless different devices complete nan adjacent respective months. Android 15 has eschewed ocular updates and alternatively tidies up nan interface and improves existing features. It besides gets a number of under-the-hood improvements that you whitethorn artifact pinch occasionally.

Android 15 packs a big of privacy-centric features, including nan fantabulous caller Private Space. Android 15 besides brings a large boost to outer communications, extending nan functionality beyond nan Pixel lineup. Let’s dive into much specifications astir nan readiness and caller features coming to your telephone pinch Android 15.

Android 15 merchandise date

Joe Maring / Digital Trends

As a cheeky trick, Google released Android 15 connected October 15 for supported Pixel phones and nan Pixel Tablet. All Pixel phones from nan Pixel 6 lineup and newer are eligible for nan update. Since Pixels dress up for a mini chunk of nan Android space, a ample percent of devices still await their respective Android updates.

As pinch each year, manufacturers person been adapting their civilization skins to Android 15, adding their ain civilization visuals and features connected top. Besides Google, brands specified arsenic OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, and Samsung person already previewed their caller Android 15-based interfaces. Meanwhile, immoderate different brands specified arsenic Motorola, Nothing, Vivo, and Honor person initiated unfastened beta programs for immoderate of their devices wherever anyone tin effort nan upcoming updates. Xiaomi is nan sole large marque that has yet to make immoderate announcement astir its Android 15 update.

Phones that tin download Android 15

Google Pixel 9 (left), Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Of nan phones that tin already download nan Android 15 update, Google’s Pixel phones apical nan list. The Android 15 update is already disposable for nan pursuing Google devices:

• Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro
• Pixel 6a
• Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro
• Pixel 7a
• Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro
• Pixel 8a
• Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL
• Pixel 9 Pro Fold
• Pixel Tablet

In addition, a mini group of phones, including nan Nothing Phone 2a, Vivo X100, and nan Vivo X Fold 3 Pro person already received unfastened beta updates based connected Android 15. Motorola is besides rolling retired nan beta update for Motorola Edge 2024, but only successful definite regions wherever nan telephone is known arsenic Edge 50 Fusion.

Meanwhile, OnePlus has announced OxygenOS 15, its civilization interface based connected Android 15. Samsung, which is usually among nan fastest to hop nan bandwagon, has delayed nan One UI 7.0 update until January, truthful we expect it to coincide pinch nan Galaxy S25 bid launch.

We shall person much specifications astir different devices successful nan coming weeks. In nan meantime, if you wish to spot if your telephone qualifies for Android 15, we person a broad list of each nan phones that will get Android 15.

Private Space is 1 of nan biggest caller features

Tushar Mehta / Digital Trends

With Android 15, Google offers a caller measurement to hide distant definite apps and files successful a unafraid vault. Google advertises this arsenic a characteristic to support your activity and agency apps and files separate; it’s for illustration moving a telephone wrong a telephone — thing that previously required specialized apps. Private Space tin beryllium an perfect abstraction to tuck distant your societal media, banking, aliases making love apps.

Before you tin usage Private Space, you person to activate and past group it up connected your Pixel telephone from Settings > Security and privateness > Private space. Google recommends you usage a abstracted email pinch Private Space. That’s because apps successful nan vault will beryllium successful a sandboxed situation and can’t interact pinch nan remainder of nan phone. It is besides a bully measurement to unafraid apps if you are tense astir definite apps stealing your information aliases abusing Android’s information permissions to entree your files.

With Private Space, you tin either usage your phone’s existing biometrics aliases group up caller ones (including a dedicated fingerprint). This will besides beryllium beneficial if you stock nan instrumentality pinch different people.

After it is group up, Private Space is accessible from nan bottommost of nan app drawer successful nan Pixel Launcher, wherever you tin adhd apps aliases privately entree files. At nan moment, Private Space is exclusive to Pixel phones and whitethorn not needfully beryllium disposable connected different phones, since immoderate Android manufacturers already connection immoderate akin solutions. For instance, Samsung has a Secure Folder successful One UI. Whether different manufacturers adopt nan functionality is apt to go clear successful nan coming months.

Predictive Back updates nan navigation experience

Tushar Mehta / Digital Trends

Android 15 besides brings Predictive Back, a characteristic that lets you get a preview of nan surface that will load up erstwhile swipe from 1 separator for nan backmost gesture. This is akin to nan backmost motion connected iOS, and feels for illustration revealing nan paper down nan apical 1 successful a deck. The thought is to fto users cognize nan erstwhile surface without completing nan backmost motion truthful they tin debar it if needed. Google says it “lets nan personification determine whether to continue—in different words, to ‘commit’ to nan backmost gesture—or enactment successful nan existent view.”

Unfortunately, Google’s implementation successful its existent shape feels crude (especially compared to iOS) and only displays a mini information of nan erstwhile screen. Another disadvantage is that it presently only useful successful a very mini group of apps — we could only spot them successful nan Settings app and nan app drawer.

We would expect different apps to adopt nan functionality but dissimilar Apple, Google gives developers free rein connected which features to implement. So, akin to Material You and adaptive theming, developers whitethorn take to place Predictive Back.

Make judge to cheque retired Partial Screen Recording

Tushar Mehta / Digital Trends

Partial Screen Recording connected Android 15 lets you surface grounds contents connected your surface selectively. While starting a surface recording, you will beryllium prompted to take whether you want to grounds a circumstantial app aliases nan full screen. If you take nan first option, nan surface signaling will only see parts from nan selected app and achromatic retired nan conception wherever you weren’t utilizing nan app.

This will forestall you from inadvertently leaking immoderate backstage accusation done nan surface recordings.

Simultaneously, there’s different hidden characteristic that lets you bypass restrictions erstwhile circumstantial apps, specified arsenic your banking app, forestall taking screenshots. You tin skirt astir these restrictions by heading complete to Settings > System > Developer options > Disable surface stock protections. If you haven’t utilized Developer options before, you whitethorn request to alteration them from nan phone’s Settings > About phone, scrolling each nan measurement to nan bottom, and past tapping Build number 7 times successful speedy successions.

Introducing Satellite Connectivity

Google

With nan Pixel 9 bid that Google announced earlier this year, nan institution confirmed outer connectivity arsenic 1 of nan features. Similar to outer SOS services connected comparatively newer iPhone and nan Apple Watch models, nan Pixel 9’s outer connectivity lets you telephone emergency services aliases notify apical contacts successful lawsuit you are ever stranded pinch nary Wi-Fi aliases cellular service.

Google takes this a measurement further pinch Android 15, allowing each phones — too nan Pixel 9 bid — to pass straight pinch an extraterrestrial satellite. In summation to contacting first responders aliases alerting chosen contacts, nan characteristic besides lets you nonstop messages to conscionable astir immoderate telephone number.

Google elaborates that immoderate telephone pinch nan “proper hardware” will beryllium capable to pass via outer erstwhile necessary. It should supposedly mean phones pinch modems that support outer communications, though it’s a small difficult to corroborate without due confirmation from Google.

Google says nan characteristic will dangle connected carriers, and could perchance hap done typical messaging apps that these telcos designate. Though privacy, encryption, and interoperability connected these apps are portion of a different shot crippled altogether, we cognize nan functionality will apt not beryllium free of cost. Having agelong conversations astatine nan disbursal of artificial celestial bodies will not beryllium economical, truthful location mightiness beryllium limitations, but these specifications elude america for now.

Notably, T-Mobile is nan only bearer to person activated outer connectivity. It precocious enabled satellite-based texting successful business pinch SpaceX, for each of its users successful areas affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. However, this functionality supposedly worked irrespective of nan operating system.

Whether it’s T-Mobile’s lead pinch nan feature aliases Google promoting it successful Android 15, we tin expect outer communications to get nan owed attraction it deserves.

App pairs are a adjuvant caller tool

Tushar Mehta / Digital Trends

Android has supported multitasking successful split-screen mode for palm-sized Android devices since Android 7.0 Nougat that was launched successful 2016. Over nan years, split-screen functionality has go reasonably useful because of larger-than-ever displays and hardware that tin really grip nan workloads pinch 2 apps moving simultaneously.

With app pairs connected Android 15, you tin prevention sets of 2 apps that tin beryllium launched together successful a split-screen view. App pairs tin beryllium saved connected nan location screen, and you tin motorboat pairs straight by tapping nan icon. Some Android tablets already support nan feature, but it’s now headed to regular-sized phones.

To prevention an app pair, you first request to:

1. Open 2 apps simultaneously successful divided screen.
2. Open nan Recent apps menu.
3. Tap and hold nan apps’ icons.
4. Tap “Save app pair”.

These app pairs will look connected nan location screen, wherever you tin pat nan icon to motorboat nan 2 apps successful divided position complete and complete again. These app pairs would not prevention successful nan app drawer, truthful you will request to beryllium wary while purging excess icons from nan location screen.

Notification Cooldown and Adaptive Vibration

Tushar Mehta / Digital Trends

With Android 15, Google plans to trim nan unit that nan barrage of notifications put upon us. For this, Google added a characteristic aptly known arsenic Notification Cooldown pinch an nonsubjective to forestall nan bombardment of notifications.

If you ever person a drawstring of notifications, nan characteristic will subsequently trim nan measurement of alerts truthful they go little annoying. Continuous pings and dings should nary much interrupt your travel of thought while you’re trying to conjure up nan cleanable witty caption for a image of your cats romping astir their multistoried house.

Notification Cooldown presently only useful if you support nan measurement connected for your ringtone and notification alerts. However, if you for illustration your telephone steadily successful silent mode, Android 15 besides adds Adaptive Vibrations, which reduces nan strength of vibration erstwhile nan telephone is still (i.e., not being utilized actively) and facing upward.

This should perfect forestall you from getting distracted by a drawstring of notifications, particularly erstwhile nan telephone is group aside. Pixels besides springiness you nan action to put your telephone facing downward to nonstop it into Do Not Disturb mode.

Notably, Google has downsized nan options pinch these features arsenic compared to erstwhile they were initially launched pinch Android 15 developer preview. This could bespeak nan institution is moving to amended them somewhat much earlier being vocal astir them.

HQ webcam mode to nan rescue

When nan world pandemic hit, our webcams really recovered intent again. For galore of america who proceed to activity from home, webcams are vital. But nan potato camera that astir of nan inexpensive webcams person tin impair nan value of our virtual interactions.

As a solution, Apple released Continuity Camera 2 years ago, allowing nan iPhone to beryllium utilized arsenic your webcam. Google followed suit past year, and enabled your Android to beryllium utilized arsenic a wired (not wirelessly, alas!) webcam pinch immoderate Windows, macOS, Linux, aliases moreover ChromeOS machine. With Android 15, nan value is getting a important boost arsenic Google adds a caller “HQ” — referring to precocious value — mode for nan webcam.

The HQ mode makes your images noticeably sharper without adding immoderate latency to nan video feed. You tin besides usage your Android telephone for camera-dependent activities, specified arsenic streaming, without explicitly relying connected costly hardware.

The functionality was antecedently besides facilitated connected Android but done third-party apps. By adding this arsenic a autochthonal feature, Google eliminates nan request to salary to unlock high-quality and adjacent instant camera provender sent to your PC.

USB Lockdown adds an other information layer

Tushar Mehta / Digital Trends

Android’s Lockdown characteristic adds an other furniture of information to your telephone by disabling biometrics. So, successful lawsuit 1 of your friends aliases family members tries to usage your telephone without your permission, they cannot unlock it by conscionable holding it up against your look aliases fooling you into pressing your digit connected nan fingerprint scanner. Even if you haven’t paid attraction to lockdown, it has been astir since Android 9.

With Android 15, Google goes a measurement further and locks entree to record retention while nan telephone is successful lockdown mode. That fundamentally intends that anyone who tries to entree your files by connecting nan telephone to a machine without your permission, they won’t person luck. More importantly, nan characteristic prevents “juice jacking,” aliases nan method wherever nationalist chargers are loaded pinch rogue cables that tin beryllium utilized to covertly bargain your data.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t still necktie into nan caller anti-theft features that Google precocious announced for each devices moving Android 10 and above. Anti-theft forces your telephone to fastener erstwhile it detects a abrupt naughty (similar to nan ominous script of your telephone being yanked retired of your hand), but doesn’t afloat trigger lockdown mode.

Manual app archiving is different invited touch

Unused apps tin return up abstraction connected your telephone for nary reason, which is why past twelvemonth Google — presumably, pinch inspiration from iOS — added a characteristic that would automatically archive apps that you don’t usage erstwhile nan phone’s retention is moving low. While it deletes nan app package, each your information remains intact truthful you tin download nan app again and tin prime up from wherever you left.

Android 15 augments nan feature, now allowing you to manually archive apps they don’t usage but aren’t fresh to delete conscionable yet. A caller Archive fastener is now coming connected nan info page for peculiar apps. That’s different measurement Android raises nan barroom for iOS.