Android 15 officially released with private space and foldable upgrades
Google has released the latest version of Android, coming first to Pixel devices
🤖 Google has finally released Android 15 for Pixel phones
🔒 It includes new features like private space and theft detection
🛍️ A slew of new Pixel-exclusive features are also rolling out
📱 Owners of the PIxel 6 and later can expect the update today
👽 Other Android users will need to wait before Android 15 comes around
It’s been a long time coming, but Android 15 is finally here. Google has officially released the latest major version of its mobile OS complete with a number of useful features that can enhance your overall experience.
The update comes after the Pixel 9 series was announced, and subsequently released, and our Pixel 9 Pro XL review and Pixel Fold 9 Pro review went live.
Android 15 released
Google spent the summer beta testing Android 15 with developers, and now that it’s finally rolling out to everyone, there are a lot of meaningful features that made the cut.
🔒 Hide your apps with private space. For one, there’s private space, which allows you to hide sensitive apps on your phone and lock them away behind your fingerprint. When an app is hidden, its notifications are disabled, it won’t appear in the recent apps view or even in the settings app. If you want to use it, you have to visit the “Hidden” section of your app drawer, which can also be disguised with a smaller interface if you don’t want people to know you’ve even hidden apps at all.
📂 Foldables and tablets get an upgrade. Google is also making the experience of using folding phones and tablets better. In Android 15, you can pin apps to the bottom taskbar, making it easier to quickly switch between them. You can also create shortcuts that automatically open two apps side-by-side, which will be a huge improvement for productivity. I’m someone who usually opens Gmail and Google Calendar next to each other to manage my travel schedule, so this will be super useful.
Apps can automatically open edge-to-edge in Android 15, so you don’t have to deal with pillar boxes, and on phones with smaller cover screens like the Galaxy Z Flip 6, app developers will have an easier time reformatting their apps to fit without having content cut off.
🕵️ Thieves stand no chance. Android 15 is also introducing Theft Detection Lock, a new AI feature that can help if your phone is stolen. If the system detects that someone has grabbed your phone and tries to run, bike, or drive away with it, your device will lock itself down to prevent anyone from using it. A new feautre called Remote Lock will also let you lock your phone using your phone number and a quick security check from wherever you are in the world.
Google says it will also prevent thieves from stealing your phone by adding more phone reset requirements like authentication in settings, removing SIM cards, turning off Find My Device, and more. Your phone can also automatically lock down if there are multiple failed attempts to unlock apps and settings.
Other features in Android 15 include a number of tiny UI changes, new sensitive notification settings, partial screen sharing for communication apps, satellite connectivity support for emergency features, and more. Google is also improving the experience of taking pictures in third-party apps with better performance in low light and new precise camera controls.
Google’s latest Pixel Drop adds some meaningful upgrades
🌃 Take better Instagram pics at night. Along with Android 15, Google has some updates exclusively for the Pixel phone thanks to a new Pixel Drop. One of the coolest is Night Sight for Instagram, letting you take much higher-quality photos at night using Instagram’s viewfinder. Your Stories will no longer suck when the sun goes down, in other words.
🐠 Aquatic photography FTW. Google is also adding a new underwater shooting mode to the Pixel, letting you use a waterproof case to capture images and videos under the sea. Is this feature a little late for the northern hemisphere at this time of year? Yes, but I’m sure it’ll come in handy when summer comes back around.
🛍️ A grab-bag of other features. Audio Magic Eraser is getting an update that lets you turn up or down specific sounds in your videos, like voices and background noise, which mimics the iPhone 16 Pro’s Audio Mix feature. Also, in the camera, it’ll be easier to access astrophotography mode when using Night Sight, thanks to a new shortcut. The Object Temperature Sensor on the back of the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 8 Pro is also getting a small update with a new viewfinder to make measuring temperatures easier, a temperature history log, and the ability to detect an object’s temperature in real-time.
In addition, the new Pixel Weather App is rolling out to more devices, Gemini Live is expanding to more regions, Widget Discovery will help recommend the best widgets to use on your home screen, and a new Gemini extension will let you use your voice to search for information in your screenshots. There’s also a new “Adaptive Vibration” feature that can read the room using mics and other sensors and not buzz your phone like a race car when you get a notification, which is helpful to avoid some embarrassment in a quiet environment.
Android 15-supported devices
Google is releasing Android 15 today for all Pixel phones dating back to Pixel 6. The Pixel Drop features are rolling out sporadically to the same devices, with all of the new features appearing on the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL. Expect these updates to hit your Pixel phone in the next week or two since Google typically rolls out big updates like this in stages.
If you own a phone from Samsung, OnePlus, or another brand, you’ll need to wait for that manufacturer to ship the update to its devices. So far, we’ve heard that Samsung doesn’t plan to ship One UI 7 with Android 15 until 2025.