Tag: Android 15

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Smartphone

Google I/O 2024 To Take Place On This Date: What To Expect

Google has announced the dates of its annual Google I/O event, which showcases new products, software, and innovations. Last year, the company revealed its Google Pixel 8 series and Android 14 at this event. This year, it is expected to bring new software and a new smartphone. Here is everything you need to know about the Google I/O 2024, including its date and what to expect from it.

Google I/O Scheduled On May 14, 2024
Google has revealed that its Google I/O event will take place on the date May 14, 2024. The company could also announce the Android 15 and WearOS 5 updates at this event.

The Mountainview giant has also unveiled the first developer preview of Android 15. It will offer an upgraded Privacy Sandbox, a new File Integrity check, better flashlight controls, and virtual MIDI 2.0 device support.

In addition, the Google Pixel 8a will likely debut at the Google I/O, marking the arrival of the cheapest phone in the Pixel 8 series. The smartphone’s retail box has leaked, and it will offer a 6.1-inch Full-HD+ OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate.

The Tensor G3 chipset paired with up to 8GB of RAM. It will ship with Android 14 and up to 256GB of storage. However, whether Google will offer seven years of OS updates on the device remains to be seen at the Google I/O event.

The Pixel 8a will pack a 5,000mAh battery with 27W wired charging support. It will also have stereo speakers and a dual camera setup on the back, with the launch taking place at Google I/O.

Categories
Tips and Guidelines

Android 15 Could Bring Back This Old Customization Feature

Google is already working on the next version of Android and it often likes to add new useful features to enhance the experience for users. The company brought a major change in design with Android 12 boasting Material You offering customization based on the colour of the wallpaper.

The search giant plans to bring another major customization feature by allowing users to add widgets to their lock screen in Android 15. Here is everything you need to know about this feature.

Google To Add Lockscreen Customization In Android 15
According to a report by Android Authority, Google is planning to bring back lock screen widgets with Android 15. Similar to iOS 16, users will be able to customize their lock screen by adding different widgets to it.

Moreover, these include weather widgets, calendar widgets, app widgets and more. Currently third-party skins like Nothing OS allow users to add widgets to lockscreen.

Google Planning Separate Space For Lockscreen Widgets
Furthermore, a code in the Android 14 QRP2 beta has revealed that Google will resurrect them although with a different approach. Android 15 users will be able to access a new space by swiping right on their lock screen where they can add widgets.

In addition, the report claims, currently widgets with the KEYGUARD category which include Google apps like Google Calendar and Google Clock are supported. KEYGUARD is a new category that Google brought with Android Jelly Bean but only a few apps support it.

The Android 15 feature is currently under development as widgets seem to be overlapping each other. Furthermore, it could be only available on devices with large screens such as Pixel tablet or Google Nest Hub.

Android introduced lock screen widgets with Android 4.2 Jellybean but decided to kill it for no apparent reason with Android 5.0 Lollipop. Google could also allow users to access widgets via the At a Glance widget by using the Smartspace API to stack multiple widgets on top of one another.