Android 15
Android 15 Could Bring Satellite Connectivity: Lets You Text Anyone
The next major update for Android is Android 15, which is already on the way to upgrade your Android smartphones.
Hard to relate, but the high-end flagship Android smartphones lack emergency SOS satellite connectivity, but now it appears that this time Google may introduce this facility for enhancing the user experience as per their convenience.
While, back in 2023, Apple already debuted this emergency SOS satellite connectivity with the iPhone 14 Pro series. Now, recent reports indicate that Google is working on adding satellite connectivity, at least to its Pixel phones. A new report highlights how this feature will work, which includes the possibility of satellite SOS connectivity coming to existing Android phones without requiring additional hardware.
A well-known tipster, Mishaal Rahman, got the Satellite Messaging page to show up in the latest Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2 release and shared details on how it will work in a report. It has come to be known that when a smartphone is unable to get access to a mobile network or Wi-Fi, then it will “auto-connect to a satellite.”
Although the usual satellite connectivity caveats apply, it will only be available in specific areas, and the terms are applied such as the sky must be clear, phone calls are unavailable, and texts can take longer to send or receive.
Here’s the question: how will existing Android smartphones connect to a satellite without the necessary hardware?
So the credit goes to T-Mobile and SpaceX; the two brands partnered back in 2022 for “Direct to Cell,” which authorized current LTE phones to talk to low-orbit satellites. Starlink debuted the first batch of Direct to Cell satellites in February, whereas T-Mobile is gearing up to announce the feature.
Now it is expected that, along with Android 15, Google will offer this feature, as evident from the Satellite Messaging page within the latest Android 14 QPR3 beta.
Clicking on the “Add satellite messaging” button redirected Tipster to a T-Mobile satellite coverage page, more than confirming that Google is gearing up to add satellite connectivity support for the carrier. One more advantage of the implementation of T-Mobile is that it will permit users to message anyone, not just emergency services.
On the other hand, iPhone users have limited contact with emergency services. However, at the moment, everything regarding this feature is not clear yet, but as time passes, it is expected that the brand will release more details soon.
Google is actively preparing for its upcoming version, as demonstrated by the availability of Android 15 Beta 1.2 for download just a few days after the release of Beta 1.1. We anticipate that the stable version of Android 15 will allow you to force apps to go dark, even if they don’t support the feature.
The metrics for 2022 suggest that 81.9% of readers use dark mode on their phones. Google offers support for a system-wide dark mode toggle in Android 14. Despite all of this, some of the applications still don’t have a dark theme, such as the ones from Fitbit or Amazon Shopping, but now the Android 15 update will overcome this lack and let you force these apps to go dark, even if they don’t have a built-in dark theme.
Back in January, Google hid a new’make all apps dark’ toggle under Settings >> Accessibility >> Color and Motion in the Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2. This toggle was not visible by default in Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2, and it was not even visible in Android 15 Beta 1.2.
According to reports, testing revealed that’make all apps dark’ outperforms ‘override force-dark’ in more applications, implying that the current developer opt-out is no longer functional and that the fundamental force-dark algorithm has changed. Android is introducing ‘make all apps dark’, a new accessibility setting that enhances the existing ‘override force-dark’ option and distinguishes itself from color inversion, which causes image distortion.
Currently, Android 15 Beta 1.2 lacks the’make all apps dark’ feature, but Google I/O 2024 next month could see the introduction of this feature in Android 15 Beta 2.
Google has started developing its next big iteration, Android 15. To prepare it for the Android device, the company has already started rolling out the beta updates. Earlier this month, the company rolled out the beta 1 update, which introduced a plethora of new features. However, being a beta update, it comes with a lot of bugs, so to fix them, it introduced the next beta 1.1 update, which fixed a crucial NFC bug. Now that it has brought a new update in the form of the beta 1.2 update, it is also coming with a lot of new bug fixes.
What’s new with the Android 15 beta 1.2 update?
Google has officially announced that the company will roll out the new Android 15 beta 2.1 update, which will provide several new fixes related to the freeze display, fix a system performance issue, resolve a system setting crash when trying to add a fingerprint, and many more. Check out the official changelog below.
Android 15 beta 1.2 update changelog
This minor update to Android 15 Beta 1 includes the following fixes:
- I fixed an issue that sometimes caused apps to freeze and display an “Application Not Responding” message. (Issue #328865524)
- Fixed a system performance issue that caused excessive battery drain in some cases. (Issue #335718464, Issue #335188185)
- Fixed an issue that caused the system Settings app to crash when trying to add a fingerprint. (Issue #334035378, Issue #335481930)
- Fixed an issue that prevented the system back gesture from working in some cases. (Issue #331303569, Issue #334738577)
- Fixed an issue that could cause the screen to flicker repeatedly. (Issue #325555461)
The latest beta update is now live for all the eligible Pixel devices; more specifically, it has started rolling out to the Pixel 6 or nearby devices. The latest update is coming with the firmware version number AP31.240322.027. The latest update is coming with the same April 2024 security patch that has already arrived with previous updates. To check for the new version, you just need to go to the system settings, select software update, touch the system update, and tap the check for updates button. You may have to tap the button more than once to trigger the download, but if all this fails, then you can also manually install the update via official factory image files.
Google has rolled out a new beta update for the Pixel devices. This is a new step towards the development of Android 15, more specifically, the Beta 1.1 update, which is now live. It is a minor update that doesn’t bring any new features but fixes some bugs.
In the first beta update of Android 15, several new features will be part of the stable version; however, being a beta update, it doesn’t serve everything in exact form, like the NFC function, which is not working after the first beta update. Due to this issue, users are not able to make contactless payments.
Thankfully, Google has now released Android 15 Beta 1.1, which has brought several fixes, including the NFC issue. Along with this, the update will also fix some issues related to developer settings and clipping issues.
In these fixes, the NFC issue fix is the crucial development that is coming with the Android 15 Beta 1.1. If you are using a Pixel device and have already used the beta update, then you should install the latest update. The update is already live for eligible pixel devices; you can check it in the system settings if you haven’t registered your device to the beta program yet. It can still be joined to the beta program. If you want to get details about the update, check the below official changelog.
Android 15 beta 1.1 official changelog
- Fixed various issues with NFC that interfered with wallet apps and other NFC-dependent system operations. (Issue #333929007, Issue #333957918, Issue #334578498, Issue #334270672, Issue #334171753, Issue #336064427, Issue #333935278)
- I fixed an issue that sometimes caused the Developer Options settings screen to crash. (Issue #333941833)
- Fixed an issue that prevented some devices from updating properly to Beta 1. (Issue #333932298, Issue #333981062)
Fixed a text clipping issue when trying to print. (Issue #334925832, Issue #334430062)