Google has announced Android 15, the next major evolution of its mobile operating system. As usual, the development and release cycle will follow a three-phase strategy. February 16, 2024, marked the start of the first phase, which squarely targets developers and phone makers to provide them with a look at the changes so that they can get familiar with the new software.
The first build of Android 15 is the Developer Preview phase, and a Beta release follows it. This release can be downloaded over the air without any special tactics. Once the beta testing phase is over, the final stable version is released. This usually happens toward the end of the year.
All the phones that can download Android 15
Like the previous versions released over the past few years, the Developer Preview of Android 15 is also limited to Google’s Pixel smartphones. Following is the complete list of phones compatible with Android 15:
- Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro
- Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro
- Pixel 7a
- Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro
- Pixel 6a
- Pixel Fold
- Pixel Tablet
Android 15 will come to more phones from other manufacturers over time, but at least during the Developer Preview and early Beta stages, only the above Pixels can join the Android 15 fun.
Android 15 Developer Preview release date
As of Thursday, March 21, Developer Preview 2 of Android 15 was made available to download via the official Android resource page. This followed Developer Preview 1, which was released in February.
Those without a compatible device in their hands can still experience Android 15 and build their apps atop the update code based on the official Android emulator that is bundled as part of the Android studio kit.
The next big update is the first Beta release, which is what we’ll talk about now.
Android 15 Beta release date
On April 11, Google released Android 15 Beta 1 to the masses. While still an early build of the Android 15 software, we’re officially beyond the Developer Preview phase and moving into the Beta one.
As mentioned above, beta testing is a public process and doesn’t require any special invites or privileges. All you need to do is enroll your device in the public beta testing batch. Most importantly, it is a lot less buggy compared to the development builds, and this is the only one we recommend an average enthusiast even consider experimenting with. If you want to download the Android 15 Beta for yourself, doing so is quite simple.
A total of four beta updates will be released over the next few months. The fourth one, which Google says means that it is “near-final” in terms of public readiness, is scheduled for the July-August window.
Android 15 final release date
The beta testing phase of a next-generation Android iteration lasts the longest and involves multiple beta update releases. In the case of Android 15, Beta 1 was released in April, with plans to reach platform stability around June.
Now, Google hasn’t said when exactly Android 15 will be released for the masses as a stable update, but it will most likely happen toward the end of 2024’s third quarter. Android 14, for example, was released in October last year, while Android 13 was released in August.
As far as Android 15 goes, the best bet would be somewhere between September and October. However, depending on how deep the changelog is — and the magnitude of software optimization required — the release window could very well shift on either end of the estimated slot.
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