Google Android 15

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Think of Android 15 as Android 14.5. It includes a handful of new features and improvements that make for a smoother and more intuitive phone and tablet experience, though its privacy, security, and storage tools won't radically alter how you use your Google-powered device. Rather, it builds and enhances the groundwork laid down by Android 14 and Android 13, delivering a more polished mobile operating system than a transformative one. Likewise, minor bugs and reports of phones bricking when using the new Private Space feature complicate an otherwise fine update. Unlike iOS 18, Android 15 isn't an OS that beckons you to immediately download it, especially when its intriguing Identity Check security feature isn't slated for a release until later this year.

How to Download Android 15

At launch, Android 15 is limited to select Google Pixel devices. These include the Pixel 6, 7, 8, and 9; the Pixel Fold; and the Pixel Tablet. Support for other phones is expected later this year.

If you own a compatible Android phone, check its OS update eligibility by heading to Settings > System > System Update. We installed Android 15 on a Pixel 6 Pro, which took approximately 20 minutes.

Elude Prying Eyes With Private Space

Private Space is the most prominent new feature of Android 15. It lets you create a separate, secure drawer for housing Android apps. It is essentially a digital safe that others can't access. To use it, you must first navigate to the app drawer and scroll down. A new Private pill sits at the bottom, which can only be accessed with a fingerprint ID or PIN. With Private Space, you can stow away apps (banking, dating, etc.) to keep them away from prying eyes. For extra security, you can lock Private Space with a different PIN than what you set for the lock screen.

You can link a Private Space to a second Google account for even more security, effectively creating a second profile. Apps moved to Private Space don't appear in your app list, notifications, recently viewed apps section, or settings.

Although I didn't experience Android 15 performance issues using Private Space, online reports state that the new feature may brick Pixel 6 phones. If you own a Pixel 6, consider waiting for more details before downloading Android 15.

Enhanced Theft Protection

Google is no stranger to account and device protection, but this is especially true with Android 15's Theft Detection. It's a suite of new features and AI tools that sense when your phone is snatched out of your hands while the device is unlocked. This sudden jolt and acceleration triggers an automatic lockdown that should prevent would-be thieves from accessing your precious data. I say should because I couldn't trigger it in testing. Perhaps my test assailant didn't nab the phone or run away fast enough.

In any case, Android 15 offers alternative protection for craftier thieves. Offline Device Lock triggers if a thief tries to take your phone offline. Likewise, Remote Lock keeps your data secure. Simply visit Android.com/lock via any web browser to lock your phone with a verified phone number.

Later this year, Google will launch Identity Check as an additional layer of protection, requiring biometric authentication to access critical account and device settings, such as PIN or Passkeys.

Free Up Space With App Archiving

Android 15 takes a page from the iOS playbook by offering app archiving, a convenient alternative to outright deleting apps. Google makes the process even easier than Apple since you can archive directly from the home screen by selecting the respective app rather than navigating to the settings page. That said, there's plenty that iOS does extremely well, so check out our Android vs. iOS comparison to see how these mobile operating systems stack up against each other.

Archiving lets you uninstall apps from your device while saving icons and login information. It's especially handy when you need to free up space in the short term, but intend to return to the app. When you want to use the app again, just tap the icon and redownload it on your phone. I freed 30GB of data after archiving Genshin Impact. After restoring the game, my login credentials were preserved, making it easy to hop back into it.

I encountered an occasional graphical bug in which restored apps would get stuck in a seemingly perpetual download state. This was corrected by backing out of the app info page and hopping back in. Despite this oddity, the apps in question did not suffer from any negative issues.

Updates to Bluetooth, Graphics, and Notifications

Android 15 also includes many smaller changes. For example, it gives you the option to automatically turn on Bluetooth the day after you disable it. This is especially important when paired with Android's Find My Device functionality.

Ever get bombarded with annoying notifications when you turn your phone on after a night of peace and quiet? The new Notifications Cooldown feature automatically lowers the volume and minimizes alerts for up to two minutes. You can still view incoming notifications by pulling down from the top of the screen.

A handful of graphical flourishes make Android 15 smoother and cleaner-looking than previous updates. This includes a slightly larger font and rearranged text for easier visibility and smoother screen transition animations when swiping home from an app, for example.

Regarding graphics, Android 15 now leverages the Vulkan API, replacing OpenGL ES. The latter is still supported, but Android 15 uses ANGLE as a translation layer to run it on top of Vulkan. What does this mean for you? Not much—yet. Vulkan is touted as a more efficient architecture that enables better graphics optimization, but we'll have to wait and see how developers implement it in the coming months.

Other Android 15 additions include:

• Support for satellite connectivity.

• Camera improvements, including a Low Light Boost mode that automatically enhances the brightness on the preview screen in low-light conditions.

• PDF enhancements, such as rendering password-protected files and annotation, search, and selection tool improvements.

• New controls for screen-sharing apps, such as the ability to share just the app window rather than your entire screen.

• Accessibility advances featuring enhanced support for Braille displays and TalkBack functionality.

Verdict: A Small, But Welcome, Update

Despite the pleasant additions, Android 15 feels like a stop-gap rather than a fully fleshed OS release. It brings handy privacy functions to Google-powered devices, and convenient refinements for storage management, notifications, and even graphics. That said, these refinements don't radically alter how you use your phone or tablet; instead, they build upon the foundation laid down by Android 13 and 14. The potential Pixel 6 bricking issue also raises some alarms, so you might want to wait until that's ironed out and the Identity Check feature comes along in a future update.