Android 15 Gets Final Batch of New Features With ‘Modes’ Instead of ‘Do Not Disturb’

In anticipation of the release of Google Android 16, the current version of the Android 15 platform received the latest set of new features. Including simplified notification mode management, expanded access to emergency satellite communications, broadcasting from cameras of other devices, a new head-mounted keyboard interface, multimodal Gemini AI, transcription of voice recordings from third-party devices, screenshot management, new image generation tools, a fraud detector, and other functions. Most of them will appear only in Google Pixel devices for now.

Image source: Google

The new Modes menu gives you quick and easy access to notification formats that can change based on your environment, schedule, or calendar events. Modes are set in the Notifications section of your phone’s settings app. Google’s Pixel 9 series smartphones now have the ability to send emergency text messages via satellite when terrestrial networks are unavailable. The feature is now available in most of the United States for T-Mobile and Verizon subscribers, with the exception of parts of Alaska. Emergency satellite messaging is also available in Canada, Europe, and the United Kingdom. Google promises that the service will remain free for two years after the device is first activated.

With the latest Android 15 update, Pixel 9 smartphones can now connect to and switch between external cameras — either other Pixel 9s or GoPro Hero10 Black and later action cameras. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are used for communication. The feature is already supported in the Facebook✴, Instagram✴, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube apps. Voice input in the Google Gboard keyboard has received a new interface reminiscent of the Gemini environment — this affected not only the Pixel series, but all other Android devices. Pixel 6 and later smartphones have access to the multimodal Gemini Flash 2.0 model — it accepts commands in 45 languages ​​​​out of the box. Users with a Gemini Advanced subscription also have access to screen sharing and video broadcasting in Gemini Live.

The Pixel Recorder now supports transcription of recordings made not only on a smartphone, but also on other devices – just import them from an old phone or a Pixel Watch. In the Pixel Screenshots app, the ability to create collections and sort them by topic has been added to the search for screenshots. The Pixel Studio image generator, which is still only available for Pixel 9 series smartphones, can now create images with people – Google has decided to cancel the previously imposed restrictions.

The Pixel Fold can now broadcast the image from the camera to both the external and internal screens; the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold has acquired the Add Me function: the owner of the phone takes a group photo of friends and adds his or her image to it. Users in France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK now have access to the Pixel Weather app widget, which indicates the presence of pollen in the air – this will be useful for allergy sufferers. The rollout of the Fraud Protection function has also started for Pixel smartphones – it monitors phone calls and identifies conversation patterns typical for criminals in interlocutors and notifies the user of the danger. In the Google Messages app, a text version of this function is available on all devices.

Several new features have debuted for the smartwatch. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the launch of a feature that tracks heart rate loss. Menstrual cycle tracking has arrived, and step counting and audio playback have improved.

The rollout of updates has already begun.