Secret folder, hidden notifications, new APIs… Android 15 introduces some new features into the Google universe, while remaining modest in its intentions. The second beta version is arriving today.
After an Android 14 that was stingy with new features, fans of Google’s operating system were hoping for a lot from Android 15. The update was to be one of the stars of the Google I/O conference, the place where the Californian company every year unveils its new Android, but artificial intelligence has decided otherwise. Google relegated Android 15 to the background, explaining that the new version of its OS would be revealed on day 2 of its I/O, after having been the star of it for years.
On Wednesday May 15, Google officially unveiled the new features of Android 15 which, like last year, falls more into the family of minor updates. Numerama, traveling to Mountain View, was able to discover the update in preview.
A locked folder with a partition in the OS
On Day 2 of its conference, Google revealed several new features coming to Android. Among them: an anti-theft snatch mode (the phone’s sensors detect sudden movement and lock the device), the ability to lock a phone remotely and a warning in the event of connection to a fraudulent cellular network. Google is also adding the ability to scan a loyalty card to add it to its Wallet. These new features arrive on all versions of Android.
Android 15 is also entitled to some exclusive new features. The most important is called Private Space and consists of a secret folder in Android. You can hide applications there which will be completely hidden in the rest of the OS.
Notifications will no longer appear, usage data will not be collected while a hacker, by accessing the phone’s logs, will not be able to find traces of their existence. “It’s a phone within the phone” explains a Google manager to Numerama. The entire OS has been rewritten for this function, which is much deeper than the secret files of some manufacturers.
Another little new feature: validation codes received by SMS or email will no longer appear in notifications, to prevent a malicious person from hiding behind you to hack you.
Do you think it’s light? The other changes in Android 15, while quite profound, relate to APIs for developers. Android 15 improves its streaming management with the AV1 codec, improves the battery (according to Google) but has few differences on the surface. That’s all.
Why release Android 15 with so few new features? Google explains to us that the annual update is the only one that affects APIs, which makes it mandatory for the stability of its platform. Its modern strategy consists of launching new products more regularly, such as the arrival of Google Gemini, without major Android updates. Apple, with iOS 18, maintains a more traditional model with large annual updates.
In addition to the Google Pixel, Android 15 is available in beta on some Honor, iQOO, Lenovo, Nothing, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, Sharp, Tecno, Vivo and Xiaomi smartphones.
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