Along with various enhancements to contactless payments, multi-language recognition, volume consistency, and app-based PDF interaction, Google’s second developer preview for Android 15 has arrived. Satellite connectivity support has been long-awaited.
Features that are expected to be included in the later-this-year public release are tested in these developer-only betas. Google said that between April and July, public beta releases need to be accessible for testing.
The most recent developer preview tackles a few annoyances and security issues that Android users may encounter. For example, it makes apps more cognizant of the reasons why certain services may not be accessible when devices are connected via satellite. With Google stating that the new version contains support for “preloaded RCS applications to use satellite connectivity for sending and receiving messages,” this is also the first formal confirmation that Android 15 will enable satellite messaging.
Apps that wish to alert users when their behavior is being recorded will now have support for screen recording detection. Additionally, Android 14’s multi-language audio recognition is being improved to prevent words from being dropped when the user switches between languages, and one-tap contactless payment reliability for NFC apps is being enhanced.
As developers acquire direct access to additional methods of interacting with flip phones, small cover screens should also become more helpful. Additionally, support for the new CTA-2075 loudness standard should assist Android users avoid having to change volume inconsistently when switching between different types of content.
Lastly, Google has added support for password-protected files, annotations, form editing, searching, and selection with copy to its “substantial improvements” to PDF functionality in apps.
