Android 15 is here, although for now only in a very early form for developers to test. Google has made downloads available for recent Pixel devices, including the Pixel 6, Pixel 7, and Pixel 8.
In a blog post by Google's Dave Burke, we received mentions of productivity increases, “superior multimedia experiences,” improvements in battery life, improvements in application performance, and protections for user privacy and security.
Many of the first features are internal tweaks, as you'd expect from a developer preview. For example, app creators get more control over how the camera processes low-light photos and how bright the camera flash becomes. Also new is the ability to capture just a portion of the screen in screen recordings.
Developers will also be able to access more efficient power modes (to ease battery strain) and additional file integrity protections that can check if files have been tampered with before an app accesses them.
Public betas
We don't have any major new features to report yet, but small tweaks are already being noticed, such as more flexibility to control the intensity of keyboard vibration and a “cool down” feature for notifications from busy group chats.
The code detected in the beta versions of Android 14 also gives some clues about what awaits us with Android 15: a proper battery health percentage indicator, the return of lock screen widgets, and support for the Bluetooth standard Improved Auracast.
None of those features are visible yet, and in the coming months you can expect functionality to come and go as Google tweaks the code for Android phones and tablets. As with previous previews and betas, the idea is to test the software, and at this stage it's not something you should think about installing it yourself.
The codename for this version is reportedly Vanilla Ice Cream and the logo matches the same space theme we saw with Android 14. The timeline published by Google suggests that public beta versions will be available in April, with a Full release later this year.
