5 things I want to see added to Android 15

Google is hard at work feature-completing and stabilizing its upcoming release of Android 15. The company is currently in its beta testing phase, with platform stability expected in June and a final release around the end of the summer.

Android 15 is shaping up to be a somewhat incremental update, rather than the complete overhaul we saw with something like Android 12 or Android 5. A focus on polishing up the platform is arguably just as critical as introducing major new features, and Google appears to be trekking forward with this mindset.

If you have eligible hardware, you can try out the beta yourself and test out the various interface tweaks and settings on offer. We’ve almost reached the 11th hour, but that isn’t stopping me from crossing my fingers and hoping Google has some bigger plans coming down the pipeline.

Here are five things I’d love to see incorporated into Android 15, either as a platform update or a Pixel Feature Drop sometime later this year.

1 More robust launcher settings

If anyone can strike a balance between feature set and simplicity, it’s Google

Google’s Pixel Launcher as it currently stands is pretty great. It provides a simple and accessible interface with enough basic customization for most people. That being said, I’d like to see the company add some additional settings and options to the mix, to better match the likes of third-party skins and launchers.

Google could strike a balance between a more robust feature set and not sacrifice the streamlined interface it’s crafted over the course of several years. Important settings that come to mind include the ability to remove the search bar and ‘At a Glance’ widgets from the home screen, providing denser app grid options, and implementing native support for third-party icon packs.

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2 Better third-party launcher support

The option to swap out your home screen launcher is still a stand-out

Ever since Google’s pivot towards a gesture-based interface across the Android platform, third-party launchers have suffered when it comes to usability. Simply put, third-party launchers don’t benefit from the smooth gestures that you get when using your phone’s default launcher.

There is a noticeable delay, as well as some jittery behavior, when swiping to the home screen or invoking the multitasking screen. It would be great if third-party launchers could better tap into the Android system and provide a silky smooth experience, which would put all launchers on a more equal footing.

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3 A feature-complete desktop mode

Let us harness all the hardware power we can possibly squeeze out of our phones

Samsung

As it currently stands, Android does have a native — albeit rudimentary — desktop interface that can be enabled with some fiddling of the software. I’d like to see this get built out into a full-fledged desktop experience, with all the interface considerations that we see on the likes of Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, or even DeX.

I think this is one of those features that’ll arrive slowly over the course of several more platform releases, rather than in one flashy spectacle. I hope I’m wrong, however. The concept of using your phone as a PC continues to be a compelling one in so many ways.

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4 A Hub Mode for phones

Port over the Pixel Tablet experience and bring it to the masses

With the launch of the Pixel Tablet, Google introduced us to its Hub Mode, which serves to turn the tablet into a makeshift smart screen when docked and charging.

Android phones, including those from Google, offer a basic screensaver mode that isn’t particularly useful on its own. The company does include some basic ‘smart’ functionality when docking a Pixel phone onto a Pixel Stand, but it’s incredibly basic and locked behind the proprietary hardware accessory.

Google should port over the Hub Mode experience to all small-screen Android devices, and make it universally accessible across the ecosystem. Apple has proven the concept has legs with its StandBy feature, and Google needs to play catch up on this one.

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5 A battery charge limiter

Qi2 is now on the market; your next phone will probably sit on a charger more frequently

Rumor has it that Google is working on providing users with detailed battery statistics when running Android 15. Checking up on your battery health and charge cycle count is a useful ability to have on-hand, but I’d really like to see a universal charge limiter setting across the entire ecosystem.

Some phones already support the ability to pause charging once the battery has filled to about 80%, which saves the power pack from unnecessary wear and tear that will shorten its life cycle.

Qi2 inductive charging is now ready for market deployment, and you can expect to see more Android phones adopt the feature in the coming years. To mitigate against the harm caused by leaving your phone on a wireless charger for extended periods of time, Google should take the preventative step of offering up limited battery charging as soon as it possibly can.

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