Android 15 (Vanilla Ice Cream) | Top 10 features and improvements

Android 15 introduces several enhancements focused on user experience, privacy, and connectivity. These are just a few of the top 10 features or improvements that could be anticipated in android 15.

Screen Sharing:

Now, notifications will not interrupt screen sharing and recording. Android 15 takes care of user privacy while sharing their screens with others. Notification popup and their content will not be recorded or shared with your screen in android 15.

Additionally, android 15 gives the option to record the window of any specific app. This ensures that your screen recordings are clean and focused solely on the app in use. While recording any specific app's screen, if you move to any other application then the content and the activity of other applications will not be recorded. There is an option in android 15 to decide whether you want to record full screen or the specific app screen.

Private Space:

Currently, some Android devices have included a security folder where you can keep apps privately, but this was usually part of a custom interface added by the manufacturer.

By default, Android doesn't provide such feature. But now, private space is natively coming to android 15. Where you can hide & keep whatever you want to keep private, and you can lock your biometrics with a pin or pad. And there's an additional good feature where you can delete & remove all the private space without touching any of your other data.

Apps within the private space are contained separately in the launcher, hidden from the recent apps view, notifications, settings, and other apps when the private space is locked. User-generated content, downloaded files, and accounts are kept separate between the private and main spaces. However, when the private space is unlocked, the system share sheet and photo picker enable apps to access content across both spaces.

Theft Protection:

Android devices above android 10 have some features to protect our device from thieves. These features are like locking the device remotely when the phone is snatched or stolen. However the factory reset option was not protected in these devices, thieves take advantage of this and reset the device to avoid any detections of the device. But now, in android 15 factory reset option is protected. Without knowing the credentials of the Google account user can't use the factory reset option.

Android 15, has the capability of detecting a theft or snatch, When it detects a snatch it will lock automatically even if the device goes offline. It will remain locked, requiring the passcode to reactivate after a factory reset. This makes it much harder for thieves to resell the device.

Satellite support:

Android 15 brings a major expansion in satellite connectivity. Previously limited to emergency use, some RCS and SMS apps can now send text messages via satellite. Google has also standardized pop-ups and other UI elements to make it clearer when you're connected via satellite. Currently, only the Pixel 9 series supports satellite messaging.

App Archiving:

Android is now offering a way for users to free up space by partially removing infrequently used apps that were published using the Android App Bundle on Google Play. With Android 15, OS-level support for app archiving and unarchiving is introduced, making it easier for all app stores to adopt this feature.

If you haven't used any app or game for a long time, you might be prompted to delete it. But what if you want to keep it for future use? With Android 15's app archiving feature, you can free up space by offloading most of the app while preserving your user settings and saved app data. While auto-archiving was initially introduced last year, Android 15 enhances this functionality by making it a systemwide option, allowing apps to be automatically archived when your device is running low on storage

Taskbar and Multitasking

In Android 15 users can save the combination of their favorite split-screen apps as an icon on the home screen. This will help to open the apps with a split screen quickly. They also can pin or hide the taskbar on screen which is useful for large screen devices like tables and foldable devices. Android 15 also allows app developers to support edge-to-edge display to maximize the app space even when the status bar or taskbar is visible. All these features and enhancements in the Android OS, help the user to improve multitasking on large-screen devices.

Audio sharing:

Android 13 introduced the ability to share or connect to nearby LE Audio streams, but Android 15 takes this a step further by making the Auracast feature easier to discover and use. Auracast allows supported devices to broadcast audio to nearby Auracast-compatible devices using BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) without the need for pairing.

Widget previews:

When you add any widget on the home screen, you're only shown a general preview of the widget how it looks on the home screen. With Android 15 changes developers have capability to offer a actual preview of the widget. For example, if you are adding a contact widget, then you can see how it will actually appear using your real contact. It gives users a more personalized and accurate view before adding them to the home screen.

Improved PDF Handling:

Google has improved the features regarding PDF rendering in the android devices.
Developers can now handle password-protected PDFs, form editing, and make annotations. Android 15 supports linearised PDF optimizations, which speed up local PDF viewing and reduce resource usage, providing a more efficient and seamless experience for users.

UI/UX Enhancements:

• Predictive Back Gesture Navigation: Predictive back design with haptic and smoother animations. Predictive back is the result of a gesture navigation operation in which a user has swiped back to preview their destination of the back gesture before fully completing it.

• Redesigned volume sliders: In Android 15, the volume slider now occupies more space on-screen. This makes it easier to adjust the volume levels for calls, notifications, media, and alarms.

• Vibration on notifications: Android 15 supports setting rich vibrations for incoming notifications by channel. Developers can set vibration effects for notification channels. So users can distinguish between different types of notifications without having to look at their device.
• Adaptive vibration: Now in Android 15, vibration become smarter. The system can detect the environment and vibrate your phone accordingly. It uses the phone's microphone and other sensors to detect the sound level and the context to fine-tune vibration intensity. All while ensuring that no data is recorded to maintain your privacy. For example, when adaptive vibration is enabled, if your phone is placed on a hard surface like a table then it will vibrate with low intensity but if the phone is placed on a soft surface like a couch the phone will vibrate more strongly.

And More...

• Battery Life Enhancements: Minor updates on battery management, including more efficient background process handling. Android 15 allows developers to better optimization for their apps that consume a lot of power.
• Better Bluetooth: Now clicking on the Bluetooth quick setting tile in the notification panel shows a popup. This popup can be used to easily select the connected device and its settings. New devices also can be paired from this popup without navigating to multiple menus. Google also has been changing how the Bluetooth toggle functions, when you turn Bluetooth off, it will automatically turn back on the next day by default.

Android 15 is scheduled for release in October 2024. This major update will bring new features and improvements to the Android devices. Google has already released some beta versions, allowing developers and early test and provide feedback. While the exact release date may vary slightly, October remains the target for the final stable version.