The News in Android 15: How to Make the Most of Them

A new Android version used to mean a long list of new system features, but that's not quite how it works anymore, and this is due to several reasons. Firstly, the development pace itself is slower, and even though there are new standards to incorporate support for in the system and similar, new features are not added at nearly the same rate as ten years ago. Secondly, because Google has made the system more modular, which means that new features can be sent out separately in so-called feature drops, and without necessarily requiring the latest version of Android. These can now come several times a year and not necessarily in conjunction with the release of the next Android version. At the same time, the mobile manufacturers themselves are responsible for a large part of the new features that are released, in the form of updates in the user interface. These are often released in conjunction with a new Android version, so a new system update can mean new features for you without them necessarily coming from Google.

Most of what's new with Android 15 are things under the hood that the user doesn't notice much but can be important for hardware and app developers. Examples of minor improvements that we won't go through are support for satellite communication, clearer animation when you choose to go back with swipe gestures, and the ability to archive apps that are not installed from the Play Store.

Theft Protection: A new feature that isn't new in Android 15

One of the features Google themselves highlighted the most in connection with the update to Android 15 is the new theft protection feature. However, in the same breath, they mention that this feature will be available for phones with Android 10 or higher. So, it's an example of a feature update to existing Android versions that Google just happened to release at the same time as Android 15. It's still an important feature, and some of the functions you need to activate in advance to benefit from, so we explain how.

The most talked-about feature is theft detection. With the help of AI and the phone's motion sensor, position, and other signals, it should automatically identify situations where someone has stolen your phone. Then the phone's screen will lock so the thief cannot use it. According to Google, the feature should not mistake situations like accidents or play for theft attempts, and if it does, the damage is not significant since the only thing that happens is the screen lock is activated. You can find and enable this setting by going into settings, selecting Google, and looking for Theft Protection.

Here, you can also enable the phone's lock screen to activate if the phone has been offline for a short while. This is to make it harder for a thief to wipe the phone or try to access its data.

Remote lock is another new theft protection feature you need to review your settings to activate. You can find the settings for remote lock in the same place as theft detection (Settings/Google/Theft Protection). Enable the option for remote lock. You must also verify your phone number.

Once you have done this, you can go to the web address android.com/lock at any time to lock the screen on your mobile. All you need to do is enter your phone number. If your phone has just been stolen with the screen unlocked, you can protect your content by activating your regular screen lock from someone else's mobile or computer.

Some additional security features (that are actually new for Android 15)

Several sensitive settings are now protected with your pin code or fingerprint unlock to make it harder for someone to tamper with your phone. An example is changing the setting for find my device.

If someone tries to log into the Google account on the mobile with an incorrect password several times in a row, it is interpreted as someone trying to guess the password and the mobile is locked. Normally, you rarely need to log into your Google account once you have set up the mobile, but if you have lost your mobile, you can log out of it remotely.

Google has also added that you cannot factory reset the phone without identifying yourself. However, several mobile manufacturers have already had this security layer before.

Private apps in Android 15

A new feature in Android is the ability to hide or password-protect individual apps on your phone. This can be useful if you share a phone or tablet, for example, with your children, or if you have important business information on your phone. If this sounds like a feature you already have, it's because several mobile manufacturers already have their own features in their user interface for private apps, but now it becomes a standardized part of Android with Android 15.

The description below for Private Space is based on Pixel 9 Pro, but since Android is Android, there is always a chance that it works somewhat differently on your manufacturer's phone when they have implemented Android 15.

The feature is called Private Area (or sometimes Private Room), and you can find the feature under security and privacy settings, or by searching for Private Area in the app catalog. You need to unlock with your screen lock (pin, fingerprint, etc.) to access the feature.

When you set up your private area, you start by specifying which Google account it should be used for. Here you can specify a different Google account than the one you are usually logged into on your mobile, and if you do, no files, photos, or emails to that account will be visible outside the private area. But it's also fine to specify your regular Google account.

Then you set a lock for your private area. You can choose to use your regular screen lock (pin, fingerprint, etc.) or set a custom code for the private area. You can always unlock your private area with a fingerprint, but you need to complement it with either a pattern, a pin code, or a password as an alternative unlocking method. You will need to configure your fingerprint for the private room separately so you can, if you want, use a different finger than the one you normally use to unlock your mobile.

Finally, install apps that you want to keep private in the area. Note that when your private area is locked, you will not receive notifications from these apps and they will not run in the background. Therefore, the private area is not suitable for apps that need to run in the background to function.

Once your private room is configured, you can scroll to the bottom of the app catalog where you will find your private area, which you unlock with your fingerprint or code. When you do this, the app catalog extends, and you see your private apps. There is already a bunch of Google's standard apps, such as camera, photo album, and Chrome, and if you use them and have chosen a separate Google account, the activity from them will not appear in your regular history. There is also the Play Store, and you can download and install apps that will only end up in your private area.

There is also a settings button for the private area. There you can set when and how the private area should be locked. The default is that it locks as soon as the lock screen is activated, but you can also set a time limit or that you must lock it manually, and it only locks automatically if the phone restarts.

You can also choose to hide your private area completely so that others do not know you have it on your mobile. To open it, you must search for private room in the app catalog search field.

You cannot move your private area when you change mobile, so you must set it up from scratch again.

Better multitasking on tablets and foldables

For tablets and foldable phones, there are a few new features that will make it easier to use the large screen for several different apps simultaneously.

The most important news is the ability to create shortcuts for app pairs. This means you open two apps simultaneously, which then share the screen. This feature is already implemented in many manufacturers' Android versions, and there are even third-party apps for it, so it's an example of Android 15 catching up rather than introducing new features.

To create an app pair, you start by opening the two apps you want to run simultaneously on a split screen. You do this by swiping up and holding to enter the multitask menu. Here, there is now a button for split screen under the list of apps. If you press it, you can choose two apps, and you'll get one on the left half of the screen and the other on the right half. Then, if you go into the multitask menu again, you can now choose "save in app pair," so you get a shortcut on the home screen to your app combination, and when you press it, your two apps open together.

The activity bar that you can bring up from the bottom of the screen with the latest apps has a new look, and you can now lock it so that it is displayed all the time without you needing to swipe it up. This is practical if you're doing something where you need to jump back and forth between two apps a lot. To lock the activity bar, press and hold the divider between the latest apps and the button that leads to the app catalog. A small settings menu will then appear, which currently only has the menu option to lock or unlock the activity bar.

Better screen recording

Screen recording has been available in Android since Android 11, but with Android 15, the feature is refined.

You start screen recording from the quick settings menu that you access by swiping down from the top of the screen. When you do this in Android 15, you now get a new option, where you can choose between recording the entire screen or just one app. If you record the entire screen, you also capture notifications that come in, which might be personal content you don't want to share. If you're showing how to use an app, it's better and clearer if only that app is recorded. With app screen recording, the notification bar at the top of the screen is not shown, only the app itself is recorded.

When will my phone get Android 15?

Once Google has released the final version of Android 15, it is up to the manufacturers to adapt their interfaces and update their phones with the systems. Google has worked in several ways to speed up and facilitate this process, and manufacturers have of course been able to start their work long before the final system version is released, but it is still quite a large task for manufacturers to update the system, especially if they are also planning to introduce new features in their interface for the phone.

Google has already updated the Pixel phones that still receive updates with Android 15. For other manufacturers, we know the following:

Samsung

Samsung plans to introduce One UI 7.0 along with Android 15, but it is facing difficulties. The system has probably started beta testing after delays at the time of this publication. The Samsung Galaxy S25 series is expected to be released with Android 15 in February, and around that time, the Galaxy S24 series will likely be updated, while other Samsung phones will receive the update gradually after that.

Sony

Sony has recently updated the Xperia 1 VI to Android 15. The company has not provided a timeline for when other mobile phones might be updated, but we can expect the update to be rolled out gradually.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi has launched its latest flagship model, Xiaomi 15, in China with Android 15 and its interface Hyper OS 2.0. Xiaomi 14 has also started receiving Android 15, but still with Hyper OS 1.1, while Hyper OS 2.0 is being beta tested for the previous flagship model. We can probably expect more models to get Android 15 around the turn of the year.

Oneplus

Oneplus 10, 11, 12 and their variants are promised Android 15 with Oxygen OS 15, and Oneplus 12 has already received the new system version. Nord 3 and 4 as well as Nord CE 3 Lite and CE 4 Lite are also promised the system update. Oneplus is likely to roll out the update to the latest and most expensive models first during the winter.

Motorola

Motorola has nearly 30 mobile models promised Android 15. The company has not announced when we can expect them to start rolling out the update to Android 15. We can expect it to take place over a longer period with the newest top models first.