Android 15: 10 big changes coming to the world’s most popular mobile operating system

Android 15 will be the name of the next major Android OS release, which comes with a new logo inspired by space and rockets, similar to the Android 14 logo. Android 15 is internally known as Vanilla Ice Cream, following the tradition of naming Android versions after desserts. The first stable version of Android 15 is likely to be available for select Pixel smartphones in the second half of 2024.

While several Android smartphones have been offering satellite connectivity for a while, with Android 15, Google is natively integrating satellite connectivity, making it easier for OEMs to deploy this technology on smartphones with supported hardware. This also hints that the next-generation Pixel smartphones are likely to support satellite connectivity, similar to the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series.

Android 15 will allow users to use their smartphones as high-quality web cameras when paired with a Windows 11 PC. Google enabled the ability to use Pixel smartphones running on Android 14 as web cameras; however, the image quality was quite low. With the Android 15 release, the company will address this issue.

Android 15 will be further optimized to support foldable devices, including enhanced continuity. Apps will retain their status on the cover display when the primary screen is closed. Additionally, Android 15 will introduce a new taskbar, especially for large-screen foldables, similar to the one on the Galaxy Z Fold5.

Android 15 will add new camera control options, enabling developers to include more manual camera features such as boosting the brightness of the camera preview, controlling flash strengths, and low light enhancements to enable better picture-taking capability even in low light situations.

Android has been supporting screen sharing for a while now. With the Android 15 update, users will be able to share just a part of the screen, which could be a single app or a single window. This ensures that even if someone gets virtual access to your Android smartphone, they will only be able to see and access the window that's visible to them.

If you are someone who worries about the constant bombardment of notifications from a specific app, Android 15 will come to the rescue. Android 15 will smartly lower the volume of successive notifications without manual intervention.

Android 15 will be able to distinguish regular messages and messages with OTPs. The system will smartly hide confidential details such as one-time passwords from other apps, adding an additional layer of privacy and security and preventing third parties from stealing confidential information.

Android 15 is also introducing a sleeker volume control panel. While it might not be coming to smartphones with third-party skins such as OneUI and OxygenOS, a smartphone running on stock Android 15 will be able to take advantage of the new volume control panel, which offers granular control over volume along with the ability to set per-app volume.

This feature will be appreciated by those who have plenty of Bluetooth devices. On Android 15, long-pressing on the Bluetooth quick toggle will open a Bluetooth dialogue box, which will include recently paired/connected devices, and users can switch between the different devices from this menu.