So, 2025 is going to be a weird year. We got Android 15 on Vivo phones before they even reach the Pixel devices. Well, the official Android 15 update is here now, and we’ve tested it. They’re mostly me because there are only a very few subtle changes across the system now. To know more about Android 15 in comparison against Android 14, watch this article till the end. Hi, I’m Asad. You’re watching Track and Tech English, your destination for detailed, incisive gadget reviews.

Visual Changes

First, let’s talk about the visual changes. Visual changes are very, very minor, by the way. The user interface of the expanded volume menu has been redesigned. You now have this rounded pin-like design instead of a line slider, which I actually like. In this new design, when you adjust the volume levels, the animation or the movement is pretty smooth. Also, now from the expanded volume page itself, you can actually choose the audio source. So, if you want the audio playing on your phone, you can do that. Or if you want it on your Bluetooth headphones or neckband, you can do that too.

The settings app design has been changed as well. The first thing that you notice is that the header which said “Settings” has completely vanished, and the search bar is at the top, and it’s bigger now. Also, what’s vanished is your Google account profile icon, and now that’s moved to a settings page. This is very similar to how the iPhone does it in its settings page with the Apple iCloud account. By the way, each setting has a border and a box, basically, and this is exactly what Nothing did with its settings page as well, which actually is a nice move.

Another design change that we saw with Nothing OS 3 is the fact that you don’t need to drag and drop your widgets. Now you have an “Add Widget” button. Well, that’s also an Android 15 update. The widgets app also has an extra recommendations row now, and you have three different recommendations: Essentials, Suggested, and Social. Also, there’s this tiny change in the Bluetooth Quick Settings menu where, once you switch off Bluetooth, you actually get the option to automatically turn it on tomorrow.

New Features

Now, when we talk about the new changes, features, private space is damn awesome. Now, this private space is located at the bottom of your app drawer, and you can add whatever apps you want to add to it and hide them. Of course, you can also set a fingerprint lock for it. One interesting thing about private space is that you can actually install duplicates of apps. So, if you want a second WhatsApp app for the private space, you can do that too. Very similar to app cloning, with private space in stock Android, you can hide apps and clone apps. Of course, many Android skins have already done this in the past. Can you name them all?

The second feature is actually inspired by iOS. You know, in iOS, you can offload apps. Well, you can archive apps on stock Android now. Long press the app icon, hit on “App Info,” and from there you can archive any app. This is very similar to how iOS does offloading of apps, where the app’s data is stored but the app itself is uninstalled. Therefore, you’re left with more storage space. Whenever you need it again, the app icon is always there for you to reinstall the app. You can also do partial screen sharing now. Once you set your screen for sharing, you’ll get two options where you can share the full screen or just the app that you want to share. It’s obviously pretty useful if you don’t want people to know exactly what you’re doing on your phone, apart from that app that you want to share.

That’s not it. Even personal notifications are hidden so that others don’t read them. I think this is one feature that is unique to Android 15 and I have not seen in other mobile operating systems before. One security feature that has been added is Theft Protection. Within Theft Protection, there are a bunch of things that you can do, but theft detection lock is very interesting. So, say for example, if someone snatches your phone and runs away, and if you have this setting on, then the device will lock by itself. But we just couldn’t replicate it when we were testing it here. Hopefully, it works when it is actually getting stolen. In fact, now if your phone gets stolen and the thief locks it, you can still locate it. This is similar to how Find My Network on iOS works, where, using Bluetooth Low Energy, all other Android devices are talking to the stolen device. Of course, you have to be in the same area. In the unfortunate event that your device gets stolen, you can remotely lock it, and you can find and erase the content as well.

By the way, on Android 15, your phone can actually act as your webcam. Just connect it to a PC using a wire, and you will get the “Use as Webcam” option. This is yet another feature that is available on many Android phones, including Motorola. Also, now when you connect your Android phone to your laptop for USB tethering or transferring of data, it asks for your fingerprint. So, an added level of security has been added.

There’s also this new feature called Adaptive Vibrations. I don’t know who asked for it, but it’s there now. This feature reduces the intensity of the vibration in a quiet place, for example, this studio. When you go to a loud place, like for example inside a metro station, then the intensity of the vibration increases. Of course, if you have the toggle on. Of course, you need a flagship phone with excellent haptic feedback for this to work properly. Also, is this really useful or not? Let me know in the comments.

Animation Upgrades

Now take a look at this: when you minimize an app and put it in the background, the animations are slightly smoother now. iOS has a similar animation upgrade. A similar animation upgrade has also been made to the always-on display. When Tanish told me that there’s a change, I was like, “I don’t see it. Where is it?” Do you guys spot it? Now, there are a couple of subtle animation upgrades, like a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of upgrade within the settings page. Now, within the settings page, once you open a setting and if you want to go back to the previous screen, you can get a real tiny little glimpse of it. Similarly, once you’re inside a setting and go back, there is like this tiny little animation that shows you which is the last setting that you tapped. Until now, the visual changes are tiny, subtle, not really that important, but this one is actually pretty good.

Now, in the brightness slider, there is a marker for the 50% mark now, which is something that was like, “Hey, why didn’t anybody else do this?” There’s this tiny animation update to the split-screen switch that you make between windows. For example, there are two split-screen apps, and then you switch from one app to the other to go to the top or bottom. When you’re doing that switch, it shows you the app icon logo for like a second.

Conclusion

Now, the thing with Android updates is that Google keeps testing new features in beta builds, but when it comes to the final build, they don’t make it there. There are some interesting features that we noticed. For example, the Pixel tablet now has lock screen widgets. Google, please add lock screen widgets to phones. Everybody’s doing it now. There’s also Samsung DeX-like desktop mode that Mishal Rman found out, and we are so excited for it. If it actually happens, that’d be so cool. Also, Google, like Apple, could add the option for you to see the battery health. Trust me, there’s no other iOS feature that I value more than the battery health of my device because the moment it hits 80%, you can replace the battery and you know that your phone will start working as new. Trust me.

Now, you know what? When we were doing the research for the Android 15 new update, we were really hopeful that there’d be big, meaningful changes. But this seriously feels like a one-to-one update to us. There are very subtle changes under the hood that if you’re using Android 14, you might not even spot in Android 15. For the past four generations, stock Android hasn’t received any major visual overhaul, and I think that it’s high time that Google thought of doing something so that it can keep things a little fresh.