Android 15 rumors and leaks: everything we know so far

GOOGLE has given Android fans their first highlight of Android 15, the new operating system coming to phones this year.

Android 15 – or One UI 7 for Samsung owners – will succeed Android 14.

New functions

Little is known about Android 15 so far.

However, the new operating system (OS) has reportedly been codenamed Vanilla Ice Cream due to its lack of blockbuster features.

Early features seem to be more under-the-hood tweaks than habit-changing updates.

In a blog post by Google's Dave Burke writes: “Android 15 continues our work to build a platform that helps improve your productivity while giving you new capabilities to produce superior media experiences, minimize battery impact, maximize smooth app performance and protect user privacy and security.”

Reports suggest that opening and navigating apps will become faster and camera features in third-party apps like Facebook and WhatsApp will be improved.

Another small but useful new feature that may appear is the ability to see battery status percentage – a feature already found on iPhones.

There are also rumors that Android 15 will bring back widget support on the lock screen.

Android does not natively support lock screen widgets, which were lost in Android 5.

Date of publication

The first developer preview of Android 15 has only just arrived, so an official launch is still a long way away.

The preview is available for download, but unless you're a real software or app developer, we don't recommend it.

According to Burke's blog post, a public beta will be released sometime in April, with a full release later in the year.

Google aims for the operating system to be fully stable from June so that the tech giant can put the finishing touches before release.

The finished version of Android 15 will likely arrive sometime between August and October, based on previous releases.

Last year, Android 14 properly launched on October 4, after details about it were first revealed in February 2023.

While Android 13 will be released on August 15, 2022, so stay tuned.

Suitable telephones

When Android 15 eventually launches, the OS update will roll out to Google Pixel owners first, before trickling down to Samsung owners.

So far, Google has made the Android 15 developer preview available for newer Pixel devices, including the Pixel 6, Pixel 7, and Pixel 8.

Obviously, the same handsets will be eligible to download Android 15 once it's ready, plus all their sister models including: the Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

There is also a chance that the Pixel 5a 5G will also receive Android 15, according to TechRadar, as this model is guaranteed to receive updates until August this year.

Samsung has also published a list of phones that can download Android 15 (or One UI 7) here.

Other phone brands that should also get Android 15 include the OnePlus 12, OnePlus 11, OnePlus Open, Sony Xperia 1 V, Sony Xperia 5 V, Xiaomi 13 and Motorola Razr Plus 2023.

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