All the new features you can now try on the Google Pixel

With Google I/O looming on the horizon and where Android 15 will presumably be presented in its beta 2 version, now comes the premiere, which is the first step in the next big update that millions of mobile phones will receive in the world. Just today Android 15 beta 1 has been rolled out after several developer previews.

As you can see, Android 15 is now available for everyone to try in an open beta via Google’s Pixel mobile devices; the only ones to have the possibility of testing this first beta, even if It is always advisable to wait for the second or thirdwhere everything will be more polished and there will be fewer bugs.

In any case, it is one of the great advantages of owning a Pixel: get closer to the next new Android features and try them first; and custom layers like Samsung’s One UI or Xiaomi’s HyperOS will take a little longer to start releasing in September in a generally regional beta.

Pixel phones can now test some of the new features of Android 15, which are not the most notable, but which form the basis of beta 2 or 3. An important point: to upgrade to Android 15 beta 1, you must remove all the mobile data. These are the compatible Pixel phones:

• Google Pixel 6, 6 Pro and 6a.
• Google Pixel 7, 7 Pro and 7a.
• Google Pixel Fold.
• Google Pixel tablet.
• Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro.

The most important news

Android 15 is not enough to completely renew the system and Rather, it is an extension of Android 14although, of course, there are very important new features and in fact in the developer previews some of its new upcoming features are already known, such as private space, although not all of them are in beta 1.

One of the most notable is application archiving, which is not something totally new as it is available in some custom layers from other manufacturers and the Google Play Store. What it does is keep the application available in the system, but without occupying all the space with the available user data, so it is very useful to keep some of them as if they were in “hibernation” and so you can invoke them whenever you want.

The other big new feature in Android 15 beta 1 is support for edge-to-edge apps: This has more to do with design and visual user experience so that an app fits seamlessly into the interface. That is to say, instead of the top and bottom of the screen being visually differentiated with the bars dedicated to status/notifications and the “circle to search”, these are merged so that they take the same color or simply the icons overlap. The image above shows this perfectly.

Change the default app for mobile payments This is another very interesting novelty to choose if you prefer Google Wallet or the same one from Samsung. From the settings, then in the applications, the default applications and finally those dedicated to payments, it can be modified; just when the Google app is updated with several new features.

A new option arrives to hide the device name from WiFi connection settings. What it does is it appears hidden and therefore the mobile device is completely anonymous on a network such as a public network.

Other details of Android 15 beta 1

Also, according to Android AuthorityIs offered support for a wide variety of braille displays through all the tools dedicated to accessibility. With this, the user experience will improve significantly for people with vision problems. But there are also other details to highlight:

• New weather widgets for Pixels.
• Widgets can be added to the lock screenbut only on tablets.
• Character spacing– Some languages ​​will be better displayed visually, such as Chinese, Japanese and others.
• Profiles managed by the application: A new class will allow application developers to collect certain types of user information in an easier way.
• Key management for E2EE– End-to-end encryption (E2EE) for contact keys that will allow users to manage and verify other people’s contact information.
• A safer background for starting applications: Prevents malicious applications from launching other applications in the background that could be used to attack the user.