Android 15

Android 15 is the next major update to the Android mobile operating system. It’s currently in development, with the first developer preview released in February 2024. Here’s a quick rundown of what we know so far:

• Release Timeline:

  • Public release expected in Q3 2024 [Wikipedia].
  • Beta stage expected in April 2024 [Android Developers].
  • Developer preview program started February 2024 [Android Developers].

• Possible Features:

  • Improved privacy and security features, including a new Privacy Sandbox to identify privacy threats [Kompas Tekno].
  • Better integration between hardware and software for a more seamless user experience [Eraspace].
  • Enhanced screen recording functionalities [Eraspace].
  • More granular camera controls for developers to improve image quality [Android Developers blog].

It’s important to note that these are just some of the rumored features, and the final version of Android 15 might be different.

What Is News?

• Helps apps keep up with the dynamic demands of web-hosted deep links by building in support for more precise Intent resolution
• Adds additional controls to improve the on-device multi-language audio recognition that was introduced in Android 14
• Introduces a new ApplicationStartInfoAPI that gives apps more info on how they were launched;
• Expands OpenJDK API support
• Improves PackageManager’s Stopped State to remove PendingIntents from apps
• Offers a new StorageStats.getAppBytesByDataType(…) API that provides more insight into how much space an app is taking up
• Brings a new mediaProcessing Foreground Service type to help apps migrate away from the dataSync Foreground Service type
• Adds new SQLite APIs that expose advanced features from the underlying SQLite engine that target specific performance issues that can manifest in apps
• Deprecates the Virtualizer class in favor of AudioAttributes.Builder.setSpatializerBehavior
• Enables the elegantTextHeight TextView attribute by default, replacing the compact font used by default with some scripts that have large vertical metrics with one that’s more readable. The compact font still exists but may not be supported in the future.
• The Pixel Launcher in Android 15 DP2 now has an “apps list settings” page that contains the “swipe up to start search” settings toggle. (Eventually, this page may contain a new “show long app names” setting that lets you toggle whether to “display long app names on two lines in search results and apps list.”