The second phase of Android 15 development reaches the Pixel to include new features that will be included in the final summer version.
Among all the new features that are beginning to be tested through the new Android 15 Developer Preview 2 is the ability to archive apps from the system in order to save space in the internal memory , but without losing the possibility of reactivating the app. It is one of the many new developments that are known today.
The first version for developers of Android 15 arrived in mid-February to kick off those versions that will polish and optimize the system so that the final version lands in the last weeks of summer.
Right after that, the betas of the custom layers for Android mobile manufacturers will begin. Depending on their agility and their ability to deal with bugs to repair them as soon as possible, Android 15 in the different layers could arrive in the months of October in some regions; although there is always someone who comes forward.
Before reviewing all the news, this new preview is available for all these Google phones : the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
Support for satellite connectivity
One of the current trends is this type of connectivity. With Android 15, Google will offer official support for satellite connectivity and has included elements in the interface to ensure a consistent experience in this special connectivity framework.
It seems that Google’s idea is to extend support internationally , and not just stay in the United States. Various APIs are included that apps can use to detect when a device has connected to a satellite. In fact, the next version of Android offers support for the use of this connectivity to the SMS and RCS apps to send and receive messages ; That is to say, it will not only be left for emergency messages.
Audio sharing and loudness control
Two news related to audio. Share Audio will allow you to easily share the audio played from a mobile phone through Auracast so that a single user can share their music to multiple headphones and speakers simultaneously.
Loudness control comes thanks to Android 15’s official support for the CTA-2075 standard that will allow app developers to avoid volume inconsistencies , and will ensure that users do not have to adjust the volume when switching between any type of multimedia content.
Archiving apps
Google in Android 14 has the archiving function, although it is linked to the use of the Google Play Store. Which means that users cannot archive or restore apps from Android system settings. In Android 15 everything changes so that this process can be carried out from the settings . The only thing you have to do is go to the app’s information page to archive or restore it.
What would be nice is if it had an automatic system as happens in Samsung’s One UI that when it ‘understands’ that the app is not being used, it automatically archives or deactivates it without the user having to do practically anything and the system improves in its optimization.
HDR dynamic range control
Android 15 now allows apps to control dynamic range to balance content in HDR and SDR (standard dynamic range). That is, the system will automatically choose the appropriate dynamic range of HDR for the capabilities of the device and the bit depth of the panel.
The only thing that in the final experience can be perceived is that some of the content, such as photographs in HDR, can alter the perception of the brightness of the rest in SDR (as shown in the image above). What Google now allows is that app developers can control the dynamic range of HDR so that there is visual balance , such as when viewing multiple photographs in an image gallery.
Detection of screen recording and folding mobile phones
Finally, with Android 15, developers will be able to declare a property that allows their app to be displayed on the external screens of folding phones.
That is, in this way any developer will be able to make their app be seen or used on the exterior screen of the folding devices. Which will mean that not only Google or Samsung apps appear on the exterior screen of the Galaxy Z Flip, but many others can be managed from this screen.
Another new feature of Android 15 is that apps ‘know’ that they are being recorded . In this way, developers will be able to hide certain content from those recordings when it is detected that the screen is being recorded.
The little news
There is room for those small details that together form a better user experience and these are other new features of Android 15, according to Android Authority :
- Better NFC : There are new APIs that will allow the device to ‘listen’, but not respond to NFC readers. It will primarily be used to authenticate credentials before the first communication with an NFC reader, enabling one-touch transactions in some cases.
- Some apps may use the new PDFRenderer API to render password-protected files and annotations so that forms can be selected, searched, and edited with copy.
