Google has started rolling out the third beta of Android 15 to Pixel devices. Android 15 Beta 3 has reached the Platform Stability milestone with finalised developer APIs (level 35) and all app-facing behaviours.
The new beta brings an improved user experience for passkeys and a Credential Manager. It allows users to sign in to apps that target Android 15 using passkeys in a single step with their screen lock, fingerprint, or facial recognition.
If the passkey sign-in prompt is accidentally dismissed, the user will see passkey or Credential Manager suggestions in a keyboard suggestion row and dropdown menus in autofill interfaces. When a user sees a selector at sign-in using Credential Manager APIs, they can link a Credential Manager request with a specific view.
When one of the views is focused on, the manager receives an associated request and aggregated credentials are displayed in the autofill fallback UIs such as dropdown or inline suggestions.
In the recent beta, when an app force-closes, it will be stopped without a fixed time limit till it is relaunched and the widgets of force-closed apps will be greyed out. Support for devices with maximum memory page size upto 16KB (from 4KB) was introduced in Android 15 allowing phones to have an expanded RAM capacity.
Predictive back animations have also been enabled by default prompting developers to support the feature. A new feature to lock specific apps with extra authentication may require developers to adjust profile logic. Updates to custom launchers would also be required to completely hide apps from the app drawer and the home screen.
The update was only made available as an OTA update for Pixel devices that are a part of the beta program. The Pixel devices which can install the update consist of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, Pixel 8a, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet.
While the update can be manually checked for, it will be automatically installed on enrolled phones within five days. Android 15 Beta 3 brings critical improvements and new features as the stable release, set to launch in the second half of 2024, draws closer.
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