Version of the Android operating system | |
Developer | |
---|---|
OS family | Android |
Source model | Open-source software |
General availability | September 3, 2024 |
Latest release | 15.0.0_r9 (AP4A.241205.013.C1) [1] / December 10, 2024 |
Kernel type | Monolithic kernel (Linux kernel) |
Preceded by | Android 14 |
Succeeded by | Android 16 |
Official website | developer |
Support status | |
Supported |
Android 15 is the fifteenth major release and the 22nd version of Android. The first developer preview was released in February 2024, the first beta was released April 2024, and the final source code was released on September 3, 2024. [2] Android 15 was released for Google Pixel devices on October 15, 2024. [3]
Android 15 is internally codenamed "Vanilla Ice Cream". [4] [5] The first developer preview (also known as DP1) for Android 15 was released on 16 February 2024, [6] while the second developer preview (DP2) was released on 21 March 2024. [7]
The official DP1 release notes state that the following features will be introduced in Android 15: [6]
However, enthusiasts have discovered the existence of other under development features that may be released in later developer preview versions, such as the reintroduction of lockscreen widgets, which were introduced in Android 4.2 but later removed in Android 5.0. [8] Other such features include battery health determination, app archiving, voice activation, private space and app pairs [9] [10] and an improved multi-tasking/windowing in desktop mode. [11]
The release of DP2 brought more new features to Android 15, including improved compatibility with satellite networks, improvements to the built-in PDF reader and support for app archiving, among many other developments. [12] [13]
The release of DP2.1 came with new features, such as apps being able to scale edge-to-edge and draw translucent system bars on the top and bottom of the screen, OS-level support for app archiving and unarchiving on third-party app stores, better braille support, end-to-end encryption for contact keys, and many other new developer features. [14]
The source code brought additional improvements, including a redesigned authentication panel, improved privacy and security settings, a new volume panel, Predictive Back and Bluetooth audio fixes. [15] [16]
Alongside platform stability, Stable Version added a redesigned credentials manager and the deprecation of WebSQL. [17]
Android 15 adds support for ISO 21496-1 gain map HDR image format standard, backwards compatible with SDR displays. It is encoded/decoded simultaneously with the Ultra HDR standard. ISO 21496-1 is also supported by Apple starting with iOS 18 between iOS 19... (which refers to the standard as Adaptive HDR) and therefore allows for cross-platform HDR image compatibility. [18]
Android 15 is based on Linux kernel version 6.6. [19]
Android 13 is the thirteenth major release and the 20th version of Android, the mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. It was released to the public and the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) on August 15, 2022. The first devices to ship with Android 13 were the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro.
The version history of the Android mobile operating system began with the public release of its first beta on November 5, 2007. The first commercial version, Android 1.0, was released on September 23, 2008. The operating system has been developed by Google on a yearly schedule since at least 2011. New major releases are announced at Google I/O in May along with beta testing with the stable version usually released to the public between August and October.
The Android Debug Bridge is a programming tool used for the debugging of Android-based devices. The daemon on the Android device connects with the server on the host PC over USB or TCP, which connects to the client that is used by the end-user over TCP. Made available as open-source software under the Apache License by Google since 2007, its features include a shell and the possibility to make backups. The adb software is available for Windows, Linux and macOS. It has been misused by botnets and other malware, for which mitigations were developed such as RSA authentication and device whitelisting.
Android Studio is the official integrated development environment (IDE) for Google's Android operating system, built on JetBrains' IntelliJ IDEA software and designed specifically for Android development. It is available for download on Windows, macOS and Linux based operating systems. It is a replacement for the Eclipse Android Development Tools (E-ADT) as the primary IDE for native Android application development. Android Studio is licensed under the Apache license but it ships with some SDK updates that are under a non-free license, making it not open source.
Wear OS is a closed-source Android distribution designed for smartwatches and other wearable computers, developed by Google. WearOS is designed to pair with mobile phones running Android or iOS, providing mobile notifications into a smartwatch form factor and integration with the Google Assistant technology.
Pixel Camera is a camera phone application developed by Google for the Android operating system on Google Pixel devices. Development with zoom lenses for the application began in 2011 at the Google X research incubator led by Marc Levoy, which was developing image fusion technology for Google Glass. It was publicly released for Android 4.4+ on the Google Play on April 16, 2014. The app was initially released as Google Camera and supported on all devices running Android 4.4 KitKat and higher. However, in October 2023, coinciding with the release of the Pixel 8 series, it was renamed to Pixel Camera and became officially supported only on Google Pixel devices.
Android Runtime for Chrome (ARC) is a compatibility layer and sandboxing technology for running Android applications on desktop and laptop computers in an isolated environment. It allows applications to be safely run from a web browser, independent of user operating system, at near-native speeds.
Android Nougat is the seventh major version and 14th original version of the Android operating system. First released as an alpha test version on March 9, 2016, it was officially released on August 22, 2016, with Nexus devices being the first to receive the update.
Flutter is an open-source UI software development kit created by Google. It can be used to develop cross platform applications from a single codebase for the web, Fuchsia, Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. First described in 2015, Flutter was released in May 2017. Flutter is used internally by Google in apps such as Google Pay and Google Earth as well as other software developers including ByteDance and Alibaba.
Android Pie, also known as Android 9 is the ninth major release and the 16th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 7, 2018, and was released publicly on August 6, 2018.
Google Podcasts was a podcast application developed by Google and released on June 18, 2018, for Android devices, and released on iOS devices on March 24, 2020.
Android 10 is the tenth major release and the 17th version of the Android mobile operating system. It was first released as a developer preview on March 13, 2019, and was released publicly on September 3, 2019.
Google Meet is a video communication service developed by Google. It is one of two apps that constitute the replacement for Google Hangouts, the other being Google Chat. It replaced the consumer-facing Google Duo on November 1, 2022, with the Duo mobile app being renamed Meet and the original Meet app set to be phased out.
Android 11 is the eleventh major release and 18th version of Android, the mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. It was released on September 8, 2020. The first phone launched in Europe with Android 11 was the Vivo X51 5G and after its full stable release, the first phone in the world which came with Android 11 was Google Pixel 5.
Android 12 is the twelfth major release and 19th version of Android, the mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. The first beta was released on May 18, 2021. Android 12 was released publicly on October 4, 2021, through Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and was released to supported Google Pixel devices on October 19, 2021. As of April 2024, it is the oldest Android version still supported via source code patches.
The version history of the HarmonyOS distributed operating system began with the public release of the HarmonyOS 1.0 for Honor Vision smart TVs on August 9, 2019. The first expanded commercial version of the Embedded, IoT AI, Edge computing based operating system, HarmonyOS 2.0, was released on June 2, 2021, for phones, tablets, smartwatches, smart speakers, routers, and internet of things. Beforehand, DevEco Studio, the HarmonyOS app development IDE, was released in September 2020 together with the HarmonyOS 2.0 Beta. HarmonyOS is developed by Huawei. New major releases are announced at the Huawei Developers Conference (HDC) in the fourth quarter of each year together with the first public beta version of the operating system's next major version. The next major stable version is then released in the third to fourth quarter of the following year.
Android 14 is the fourteenth major release and the 21st version of Android, the mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. Both the Google & AOSP versions were released to the public on October 4, 2023. The first devices to ship with Android 14 were the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
Jetpack Compose is an open-source Kotlin-based declarative UI framework for Android developed by Google. The first preview was announced in May 2019, and the framework was made ready for production in July 2021.
Android 16 is the upcoming major release of Android. The first developer preview was released on November 19, 2024. Google expects the platform to reach beta stage in January 2025 with a final release expected in the second quarter of 2025.