The imminent Android update, dubbed Android 15, heralds advancements in security, productivity, and app accessibility.
Google has rolled out the inaugural beta version of Android 15 for developers and early adopters. This iteration of the Android operating system places a strong emphasis on productivity enhancements, bolstering user privacy and security measures, and enhancing the visibility and accessibility of applications.
The beta release occurred on April 11, with the final release anticipated sometime in August. Notable changes include default edge-to-edge display for apps targeting Android 15, obviating the need for explicit calls to Window.setDecorFitsSystemWindows(false) or enableEdgeToEdge to display content behind system bars. While Android builders recommend continued use of enableEdgeToEdge() for optimal edge-to-edge experience on older Android versions, the default setting streamlines app presentation.
Furthermore, Android 15 aims to refine tap-to-pay functionality, ensuring seamless and reliable transactions while upholding support for Android’s Near Field Communications (NFC) ecosystem. Apps can now register a fingerprint on compatible devices to receive notifications of polling loop activity, fostering smooth interactions with multiple NFC-aware applications.
To address text justification concerns, Android 15 introduces the JUSTIFICATION_MODE_INTER_CHARACTER option, enabling inter-character justification. This feature caters to languages like Chinese that rely on white space for segmentation, complementing the previously introduced inter-word justification.
Security enhancements are paramount in Android 15. The introduction of E2eeContactKeysManager facilitates end-to-end encryption within Android applications, while an OS-level API simplifies the storage of cryptographic public keys. Version 15 also implements additional measures to thwart malicious background apps from hijacking foreground applications, thus fortifying user protection and device control against potential abuses.
Additionally, Android now integrates OS-level support for app archiving and unarchiving, streamlining implementation for app stores. In the realm of app-managed profiling, Android 15 introduces the ProfilingManager class, enabling the collection of profiling information within applications. While Android’s builders plan to encapsulate this functionality within an Android Jetpack API to simplify profiling requests, the core API facilitates connections for heap dumps, heap profiles, stack sampling, and more.
