Now that the second day of Google I/O is finally here, The company has started to kick off with the launch of Android 15 Beta 2. This was reported yesterday, and the company has now started rolling out the update with many changes. As always, it is available on every supported Pixel device, and you can find the links below.
Android 15 Beta 2 brings a number of changes and makes Android even better for all users
As far as stability is concerned, Google claims that Android 15 Beta 2 brings an "incremental Beta-quality release," which means that you should be able to use it daily without any issues. So, what does the new beta bring? Let's have a look.
The first thing that Google talked about is Private Space, which allows you to create a separate area for the applications you pick. Google basically talks about how this is a digital safe for “apps you don’t want others to easily access or see." The apps can be accessed from the bottom of the app drawer once you authenticate it using your fingerprint or a password or PIN that is separate from the one that you use to unlock your phone.
Apps stored in the Private Space will have their notifications and data isolated from the rest of your phone with a separate user profile. They are also hidden from recent settings and other apps when you have locked the private space.
Further, Android 15 Beta 2 will also bring the option to pin the taskbar on the screen and the ability to use App pairs, a feature best suited for larger screens. Google has not shared a lot of information on these features, but you should be able to experience it firsthand once you update your devices to the latest version.
With the Android 15 Beta 2, Google will start collecting new data types for Health Connect. These types are skin temperature and training plans, which will be collected to ensure that the overall experience is better than before. Skin temperature tracking will allow users to store and share more accurate temperature data from their wearable or other tracking devices that they might have, whereas the training plans are basically structured workout plans that will help users achieve their fitness goals without any issues.
Another change that Android 15 Beta 2 brings is a new option that allows the system to address you how you want. This means that the system will address you in your gendered languages. It is starting only with French but will be expanded to other languages in the future. You can access the new setting in Settings > System > Languages & Input > System languages > Choose how you’re addressed.
The Android 15 Beta 2 also brings a number of other changes that you can read about below:
- Selected photos access improvement: It is now possible for apps to highlight only the most recently selected photos and videos when partial access to media permissions is granted. This can improve the user experience for apps that frequently request access to photos and videos.
- Smoother transition when entering Picture-in-Picture (PiP): Android 15 Beta 2 allows app developers to quickly toggle the visibility of irrelevant UI elements for a PiP window, ensuring a smoother and flicker-free PiP entry animation.
- Rich vibration effects for notification channels: Android 15 Beta 2 supports setting rich vibrations for incoming notifications by channel. This allows users to distinguish between different types of notifications without having to look at their devices.
- Foreground services changes: Two common foreground service types now have a ~6-hour timeout, after which the service is no longer considered a foreground service. Further, Beta 2 also now requires apps to have a visible overlay if it is attempting to start a foreground service with a permission exemption for background start.
- Upcoming required support for 16KB page sizes: Android 15 adds support for devices that use larger page sizes, including 16 KB pages in addition to the standard 4 KB pages. Devices with larger page sizes can have improved performance for memory-intensive workloads.
If you are interested in installing Android 15 Beta 2 on your Pixel device, you can find all the OTA packages below. Check out this guide to install the update on your device with ease. For all the information on the latest Beta, head over here.
