Skip to main content

October 15 could be the day Android fans have been waiting for

Private Space option in app library of Android 15.
Private Space is one of the best features on Android 15. Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

The official release of Android 15 has been delayed way longer than anyone expected, but we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. According to a report from Android Headlines, the next version of Android will hit the market on October 15.

This is a marked departure from how Google has handled the launch in the past. Typically, the latest version of Android releases with the latest version of the Pixel, but that wasn’t the case this year with the August release of the Google Pixel 9. In a way, Android 15 is releasing at its usual time; the Pixel was just early.

Recommended Videos

Google pushed Android 15 to the Android Open Source Project, or AOSP, earlier this month. That usually heralds an imminent release. As for why it’s releasing on the 15th — a Tuesday — instead of on Monday, is likely due to Columbus Day, a national holiday in the U.S.

Android 15 is coming with a load of new and useful features that will improve the overall user experience, including performance improvements, better PDF usability, notification cooldowns, and even partial screen sharing.

Android 15 logo on a Google Pixel 8.
Joe Maring / Digital Trends

The new operating system will work with the Pixel 6 and later devices, which also makes this the first Android update that’s restricted to Tensor-based Pixels. If you’re still using an older-model Pixel, then you won’t qualify for this update.

The idea is that since the update has taken longer to launch, it’s been under more scrutiny, and as such, should theoretically have fewer bugs. Whether that actually plays out, though, remains to be seen.

October 15 is less than a month away, so sit tight. A new version of Android will be here before you know it — even if it took longer to get here than many would have liked.

Patrick Hearn
Patrick has written about tech for more than 15 years and isn't slowing down anytime soon. With previous clients ranging from…
Google’s latest Android tools will protect you from a wider range of scams
Scam alert on Android phones.

Over the past few years, Google has released a host of safeguards for calls, messages, and web browsing that increasingly use AI to protect smartphone users from scams. Ahead of the I/O 2025 developers conference, Google has now detailed the next wave of safety features coming to Android devices this year. 

Bad actors often trick users into disabling the built-in safeguards, such as Google Play Protect, sideloading malware apps, and enabling permissions that allow data theft. Google says the next-gen safety features in Android will aim to negate these attacks. 

Read more
From Android 1.0 to Android 16: How Google’s mobile OS has evolved since 2008
Android 16 logo on Google Pixel 6a kept on the edge of a table.

Google I/O 2025 will be livestreaming next week, and software developers from Google are expected to unveil Android 16, which is slated to come out before the summer. The upcoming Android software update is expected to bring a host of new features as well as some returning mechanics from a decade ago.

To hold our excitement for the upcoming conference over, we're going to take a stroll down memory lane with a complete history of Android, from its humble beginnings as a T-Mobile-exclusive mobile tech to an AI-advanced software to grace contemporary smartphones like Google Pixel 9 and Samsung Galaxy S25. Android has come a long way since 2008, and it has a long way to go to be the best mobile software for everyone. That being said, here's a full timeline of Android's evolution.

Read more
Google Chrome is getting an AI-powered scam sniffer for Android phones
Scam warning from Chrome on Android.

Google’s Chrome browser has offered a rich suite of privacy and safety features for a while now. Take, for example, Enhanced Safe Browsing, which was introduced back in 2020. It protects users against unsafe websites and files by using real-time threat detection. 

Three years later, Google switched it from an opt-in mode to a default safety protocol to guard users against phishing attacks, bad extensions, and malicious downloads. Now, the company is deploying its Gemini Nano AI to safeguard smartphone users against potential online scams, especially those hiding as a tech security warning on webpages.

Read more