Android 15's First Beta Release is Out

Android 15's first public beta is available to download now, provided you have a Pixel phone. From a report: It's the first consumer-facing release after two developer previews, and while we have a good idea of what to expect from Google's next mobile OS version, we'll certainly hear more at the company's annual developer conference soon enough. The blog post highlighting updates in today's release covers some pretty pedestrian stuff. Apps will scale edge to edge by default and will draw behind translucent system bars on the top and bottom of the screen, rather than around them. There's OS-level support for app archiving and unarchiving so third-party app stores can take advantage of this feature. Android 15 will also provide better support for Braille displays.M

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[Anonymous Coward]

i know this is a troll but they literally tell you which phones are available to upgrade

https://developer.android.com/... [android.com]

Pixel 6 and 6 Pro
Pixel 6a
Pixel 7 and 7 Pro
Pixel 7a
Pixel Fold
Pixel Tablet
Pixel 8 and 8 Pro

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[ArchieBunker]

So only pixel phones a maximum of 3 years old.

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[Teckla]

Instead of paying $800 for a phone and expecting a company to support it until the sun goes cold, you should have bought a Windows Phone.

Because handing Microsoft yet another monopoly would have been great for consumers.

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[MachineShedFred]

That depends, can you even read the first sentence of the summary?

Every time they release a new version of android

[wakeboarder]

They make it harder to use software and outdated hardware. I've already seen a few programs myself say: Not compatible with newer android versions. I have a tablet that I can't use because it has a later android version. I know new stuff is cool, but I would like to be able to have some backwards compatibilty.

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[ArchieBunker]

That's been Android since its inception. Unless you buy a flagship phone you're not going to get many updates. Meanwhile my 7 year old iPhone still gets regular updates but it can't run the latest iOS. My Android work phone had three different app stores and every update would install some new game or other nonsense.

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[ACForever]

But then your stuck with an iphone.

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[aRTeeNLCH]

Samsung expanded updates of their Galaxy A line alongside the flagship S line 2 years ago, the A33 got 4 years of system upgrades (= 4 major android versions) plus one additional year of security updates. At just around 250 bucks, it's far from a flagship price. And sure, it's not 7 years like your iPhone but one should know forget that iPhones are sold over 4 years, since older flagship become mid end phones. Samsung models from last year are scarce and of two years ago aren't available anywhere I look. So

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[MachineShedFred]

So what you're saying is that a newer version of base software ceased being compatible with long-abandoned and unmaintained software that runs on it.

That has nothing to do with hardware at all. I don't know why you think what you said changes anything the person you replied to said.

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[tlhIngan]

Well, the big change occurred around the 12/13/14 era when the system went from supporting 32 and 32/64 bit binaries to 64 bit only. The 64-bit only transition means apps that only have a 32-bit native code can no longer run on Android. You might think that Android apps are Java based, and you'd be correct, however many apps do have native libraries they use (with the Native Development Kit, or NDK).

I say around the era as 32-bit Android devices could still run them as they were 32-bit only devices.

Other re

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[makitso]

I as well am a heavy tablet user. Bought my wife a new job Pixel tablet and it's a mess. Installed the Nova launcher and there are lots of problems with the UI and the latest Android version.

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[MachineShedFred]

Android tablets have been a shit show since the first one came out. It's very clear that app developers do not think about tablets when they create their UIs - things don't scale to expanded screen real estate the way that they should, and many just assume things that are true about phones, but not necessarily true about tablets (like always having an internet connection, for example).

If you find a device that works for what you need it to do, great. However, using an android tablet as a general-purpose d

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[colonslash]

I've been buying Google Pixel phones for this reason; they get the new versions (without a lot of crapware) first, and they have a promised updatable lifetime [google.com]; the 4s and 5s got 3 years of Android updates, the 6s and 7s 5 years, and the 8s are getting 7 years of updates.

Personally, I was happy with 3 years...

On the flip-side, Google's last AI release debacle made me lose a lot of confidence in the company; they want to control how and what people think instead of giving their customers access to informa