The last two major versions of Android have greatly transformed the operating system, giving it a fresh coat of paint with tons of new internal and external features. Extensive and ongoing UI changes since Android 12, new privacy features, and many other useful tweaks have improved the user experience. We’re sure Android will continue this trend in 2024, so here are five features we’d like to see added to Android 15.
1. Lock Screen Widgets
Android widgets have so much potential that even Apple eventually copied them. Google, however, didn’t pay enough attention to improving them and Apple ended up taking full advantage of the feature. The Cupertino giant allows you to create stacks of widgets, interact with them and even add them to the lock screen.
Yo I love Apple’s implementation. or even NothingOS 2.5 lock screen widgets, and it’s about time Google brought lock screen widgets to Android. But how and what can Google implement from its existing or new widgets?
For starters, since Google is so invested in the device ecosystem, Android 15 could benefit from a battery lock screen widget. If you don’t know, the battery widget shows the remaining battery percentage of all connected Google devices. A weather widget with the existing aesthetic would also look great alongside others, such as a new Gmail widget on iOS, Google Keep, Fitbit, and more.
Another widget that I would like to have on my home screen is the YouTube Music widget. It looks great and can act as a replacement for the media player UI on the lock screen as Android allows you to disable the media player from the lock screen. The YouTube Music widget takes up too much space on your home screen and is best used as a lock screen widget to change the default user interface of the media player.
2. Cloned applications
You saw it coming, didn’t you? I wouldn’t use the app cloning feature much, but I know plenty of people who would jump at the opportunity to run two Snapchat or WhatsApp accounts on their phones. Google has held back the feature for a long time, and it’s not good of them, since UIs that are much newer, like Nothing OS, implemented it first. Other popular Android skins, such as MIUI (now HyperOS) and One UI, have had this feature for years.
For those who don’t know, the “Clone Apps” feature would allow users to use more than one instance of an app. For example, users can run two instances of WhatsApp with two separate accounts if they wish, and the same goes for other apps, eliminating the need to log out every time they want to switch accounts.
The feature was spotted in Android 14 Beta and Developer Preview, but we never heard of any development again. However, Google is planning to launch a new feature called “Private Space” as a competitor to Samsung’s “Secure Folder” and may launch the Cloned Apps feature as part of it in Android 15, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.
3. A desktop mode
One of the main and little-discussed features of the Pixel 8 series is the USB Type-C port. Unlike the previous generation Pixels and most Android phones, it is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port capable of displaying exit. While it may not seem like much at first, you’ll be surprised at how many things you can do with it.
For starters, you can connect accessories like the Xreal Air (review) and have a large secondary screen before your eyes. More importantly, you can connect your Pixel to a monitor with nothing more than a Type-C cable, basically turning your phone into a computer. However, simply mirroring the screen isn’t that great, so Google should consider adding a Pixel Desktop mode whenever the phone detects a screen output signal, similar to the DeX mode on Samsung.
As for what it should look like, Google has spent a lot on research and development in recent years, from the introduction of Android 12L to the current Android UI for tablets, and we won’t be surprised if it looks the same. Although we would prefer it to look like ChromeOS. It’s too early to make predictions, but if you have any ideas, leave them in the comments.
4. Screen off gestures
Screen off gestures are not a completely new concept in the world of Android as OnePlus was one of the first manufacturers to bring the same to their devices. The idea is to have the ability to assign certain functions to gestures that work even when the screen is off.
These features could include the ability to play/pause/skip music, open an app like the camera, turn the flashlight on/off, scan a QR code, etc.
This would be a great feature, at least for me and for those who still use wired headphones or don’t want to rely on the touch controls of their TWS headphones, as there would be no need to tap and wait for the screen to wake up. and then press the “next” button on the player.
5. Bard on Gboard
Google should soon start rolling out Assistant with Bard (renamed simply Bard, or as recent leaks suggest, Gemini) on all Pixel devices. Likewise, if there is something that can improve your user experience in Android 15, it is the integration of Bard into Gboard.
We know writing assistant exists, but why dictate or type it yourself when you can ask AI to do the heavy lifting for you?
Google also added suggestions to Gboard and with the addition of Bard, they should improve context understanding and provide users with appropriate suggestions. From creating custom stickers and emojis to giving suggestions and summarizing messages, Bard should be able to handle it.
