Google has officially launched the first Developer Preview of Android 15, a significant update that promises to enhance user privacy, security, performance, and photography experiences on Android devices. This release marks the beginning of a new era for Android developers, as they prepare to integrate the latest features and APIs into their applications.
Android 15 introduces several key improvements, including:
Improved User Privacy and Security: Android 15 continues to build upon Google’s commitment to user privacy and security, with the addition of new APIs and features that help developers protect user data and minimize privacy risks.
Performance Boost: The Android Dynamic Performance Framework (ADPF) is expanded to provide more direct interaction between apps and device power and thermal systems, resulting in improved performance for games and other performance-intensive apps.
Enhanced Photography Experience: Android 15 brings new capabilities to the camera API, enabling developers to create more advanced photography apps and features.
Generative AI Capabilities: Android 15 introduces gen AI capabilities, which will be rolled out to more Android devices beyond Pixel and Samsung Galaxy S series.
Google has released the first Developer Preview for Pixel 6, 6 Pro, 6a, Pixel 7, 7 Pro, 7a, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet devices, as well as for the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. Interested developers can sign up for the Android 15 Developer Preview on the official Android Developer page.
The Android 15 Developer Preview is the first of three previews, with the second and third previews scheduled for February and March, respectively. The final version of Android 15 is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2024, with the public version of Android 15 likely to be released alongside the new Pixel 9 series.
Most phones launched in 2022 and 2023 are expected to receive Android 15 by the end of 2024 or early 2025. Google and Samsung have pledged to offer seven years of Android updates to select Pixel and Galaxy phones, while other phone brands typically offer between two and four years of updates.
Google encourages developers to provide feedback during the development process, as this will help shape the final release of Android 15. Developers can report issues and submit feature requests through the Android Developer Preview issue tracker.
The Android 15 Developer Preview includes everything developers need to test their apps on a variety of screen sizes, network technologies, CPU and GPU chipsets, and hardware architectures. Developers can download the Android 15 Preview SDK and tools through the Android SDK Manager in Android Studio.
As the Android 15 Developer Preview is intended for developers only and not for daily or consumer use, it is available by manual download and flash only. Developers can find more information about the Android 15 Developer Preview and download the necessary tools and resources on the official Android Developer website