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Google announces a new Android version every year at its Google I/O event. This year, they announced Android 15, but the company barely talked about what's coming in the new version. Android-related announcements have been sidelined for AI launches for the last two years, and the same happened in the Google I/O 2024 event, which was all about AI once again. So tech enthusiasts had to rely on using beta builds to find the features coming in Android 15.
We saw a great deal of new features in the beta builds, but there's always room for more. In this article, I'll talk about five features I want to see in Android 15 when it releases later this year.
Note: This is an opinion-based article that solely reflects the writer's opinions.
List of the features I would like to see in Android 15
The following is the list of features I want in Android 15, and many of you will likely agree that the lack of these features has been annoying.
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1) Disable App Drawer
As an ex-iPhone user, I have a habit of keeping all my apps on the home screen and am not particularly fond of the App Drawer. Android allows me to do this already, but sometimes, I accidentally trigger the App Drawer when swiping on the screen. Since there's no way of disabling the drawer, it can be pretty annoying.
I'm sure many users would want the opposite, and that's okay. This is why Google needs to implement a toggle to allow users to make their own choices. Samsung has already implemented this feature. In OneUI's home screen layout settings, you can choose between "Home screen only" or "Home and Apps screens." I would like something like this done natively in Android 15.
2) Option to hide navigational gesture bar
The navigational bar gives you a visual indicator of where you must swipe to access gesture-based functions. It was first introduced in Android 10 and has stayed there ever since. I get the importance of having the gesture bar visible at the bottom of the screen, especially because it helps new users feel more comfortable with the interface.
However, I am already quite used to the navigation gestures and don't need a visual reminder, so you can probably understand my frustration over the fact that there's no way of hiding this gesture bar at the bottom.
Third-party UIs, including OneUI, MIUI, OxygenOS, and even Motorola My UX interface, already have the option to hide the gesture bar, but it's not available in Android 15 natively.
3) Support for native icon packs
Icon packs can be so much fun, but there's no native way of choosing an icon pack in Android as of yet. OneUI does allow this, but I would like it natively on Android 15. I love OneUI's icons and would like to have the same on Pixel phones, but since they don't have this feature, I can't switch to a Pixel yet.
4) Widgets on the lock screen
On iOS 16 and above, you can keep widgets on the lock screen, but such functionality is absent in Android. Once upon a time, Android used to have widgets support on the lock screen, but it was removed in the 5.0 Lollipop version. We never saw this feature again, but it might be a good time to bring this back natively.
This feature is available in Nothing OS, a custom-skinned version of Android, so it is not impossible to bring back.
5) A full-fledged desktop mode
Remember Windows Phone and its continuum feature? Probably not, so let me refresh your memory. The Windows Phone Continuum feature allowed users to turn their phone into a full-fledged desktop when connected to an external display.
I was dazzled by that feature and would really like to see something like it on Android. Imagine going to work with just your phone and turning it into a full desktop computer by connecting it to an external display. Wouldn't that be amazing? I definitely think so, and I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting this.
