Android 15 Is Out Now: Six New Features You'll Want To Try

After spending months in the testing phase, Android 15 has finally started rolling out for the masses. The theme of Google's latest big release is enhanced privacy and safety. As usual, the update will first make its way to the compatible Pixel series smartphones like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, followed by OEMs like Samsung and Nothing, both of which have been running their own beta programs for Android 15 for a while now.

As far as features go, arguably most notable is Private Space. Think of having your own safe space for sensitive apps on your phone, one that is invisible to the prying eyes and protected by a password or biometric lock. "The sandboxed space is a separate Android profile When the end user adds or installs an app inside private space, the app is installed in this new Android profile," says Google.

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Once enabled, users have to scroll down in the app drawer where they see a Private bar at the bottom of the screen. Tapping on it requires them to go through a security check for identity verification to access the apps within. The feature is available in the Security & privacy section of the Settings app on an Android phone.

This feature is tailor-made to protect sensitive communications and data in apps, such as banking applications, files stored on a cloud platform, work communication, and more. You can find more technical details about how Private Space works on Google's help page.

When a device is lost or stolen, the primary concern is not merely the value, but the data stored on it and the sheer potential for misuse. To that end, Google is adding a whole set of anti-theft features with Android 15. Among them is Theft Detection Lock, which automatically triggers the screen lock as soon as the device detects an event like theft or snatching. It relies on a combination of AI processing and sensor data to identify such a mishap and kick into action.

Next, we have Offline Device Lock. This one also looks for multiple markers, including changes in connectivity and location patterns to lock the device and prevent a bad actor from getting their hands on precious data. "It will lock your device screen when excessive failed authentication attempts are made," Google explains. Both these features will eventually make their way to all devices that are running Android 10, or a later version.

Finally, Android 15 also introduces Remote Lock. Google's Find My Device system already lets users mark their lost phone as lost, allowing them to remotely lock or wipe the device. However, if you can't spare the time to go through that protocol, the new Remote Lock feature will let you quickly secure the stolen phone's screen using just the phone number and a security check on a web dashboard. It's not a permanent solution, but more like a stop-gap that buys more time for further action.

For anyone who has workplace communication or team-based task management apps — think of Trello, Asana, or Slack — installed on their phone, the barrage of notifications from these apps can make for a jarring experience. The same applies to chatty group conversations with friends on apps like WhatsApp or Instagram. In either scenario, the onslaught of notification pings can be more of a distraction than anything else.

To stem that tide, Google rolled out a feature called Notification Cooldown in the first wave of Android 15 beta testing. It essentially detects when an app is sending a continuous stream of notification alerts in short bursts. Once such activity is detected, the system lowers the volume with each successive notification ping from the same app.

Another neat convenience that ties into Android 15's privacy-first approach is partial screen recording, otherwise known as in-app or per-app screen capture. Let's say you want to help someone with a tutorial within a certain app. Once you start the in-built screen recording system, Android will give you an option to record the entire activity, or just within the target app. As you start multi-tasking or jumping between different apps, they will appear blank and only the foreground app's activity will appear in the recorded video. This is a neat feature that keeps any other person from taking a peek at the activity within other apps or other information stored on your phone.

Android 15 is launching for Google's Pixel phones — like the Pixel 9 XL Pro currently $1,099 at Amazon, and the Pixel 9 currently under $750 — from today.