Google has released Android 15 Beta 4 to testers and developers today, which is also the second installment in the preview stage of the Android OS’ cycle going to the stable and final build. The latest update builds on the previous beta but focuses on refinements and a few tweaks. Here’s what’s new.
Unlike previous beta releases with many changes on the surface, the Android 15 Beta 4 addresses many remaining bugs while ironing out fixes on the Beta 3. There are also little visible changes included in the firmware, with the most notable including new tools inside the Device diagnostics section.
New device diagnostic features on Android 15
As dug up by 9to5Google, this section adds Battery status letting you see the battery pack’s manufacturing date, first usage date, and cycle count on top of the remaining health. There are also diagnostic tools to calibrate the display and test touchscreen inputs.
It should be noted that some manufacturers like Samsung already offer most of these features. So, what’s really new here is the extended battery information.
Under the Device diagnostics, there is also a new Evaluation mode. Basically, this is used to assess another device during evaluation and requires an active internet connection. At the same, users can also use this feature to run a diagnostic on their device and then verify the results on another handset.
Other changes in the Beta 4 update
Another change that can be noticed in the Beta 4 is when taking screenshots. Both the preview and the screenshots adopt the current lighting theme. For example, if dark mode is enabled, the system interface included in the screenshot will be shown in black or the associated color for dark mode.
In addition, there are minor iterations on the naming of features and settings as well, such as the Display section is now called Display & touch.
Separately, strings of codes have been discovered by Android Authority that talk of an option to manually set the charging level to 80 percent. This is new for Pixel as the adaptive charging feature only allows for the automatic setting of charge level.
Elsewhere, there are a handful of bug fixes that have been addressed with the update, like the issue of the visibility of quick settings and cases of some Pixel devices getting stuck on unbootable mode after a reset. Moreover, there are also optimizations in connectivity and stability of these devices running on the Beta software.
The Android 15 Beta 4 is available for Pixel 6 series and later models including the Pixel 8 (review) and Pixel Fold (review).
Are you running on Android 15 Beta? How’s your experience so far? Likewise, let us know if you found other changes not mentioned here.