Some phones will soon receive an update that will actually boost your battery

What’s the biggest complaint we all have about our smartphones? Not the fact that they follow us everywhere or share all of our data, but the fact that their batteries are often junk.

Well, happy days – the new Android 15 could give your phone a three-hour battery boost.

Sorry, iPhone beeps, you may still need to carry a charger with you.

Google unveiled a ton of new technology at its annual I/O event last week, including news about Android 15. But this particular gem didn’t emerge until later, when Dave Burke, Android’s vice president of engineering, appeared on the Android Faithful podcast and spoke with co-host Mishall Rahman for Android Authority.

He revealed that the new software would enter sleep mode about 50% faster than Android 14. Sleep mode reduces battery consumption by controlling the behavior of apps when the device is not used for a long period of time, ensuring that they don’t constantly whir to themselves.

Mr Burke revealed that when testing the latest tweaks, the Google team saw a three-hour increase in battery life – that’s basically an evening when your phone tends to die right after work.

Of course, many Android phones already offer significantly longer battery life compared to their predecessors, and the new software isn’t a guarantee that you’ll get the full three hours of additional scrolling – especially right after the update, which will take a day’s worth of battery life or more can impact two. However, it is a good sign that the entire system should be more efficient.

The most important question, of course, is when will it be available?

Google only released Android 14 in October, so it’s unlikely to launch before this October. However, if we stick to the same schedule, it could arrive in fall 2024 and launch alongside the rumored Google Pixel 9 launch.

This year’s offerings could also include the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, which is expected to have a larger display and better battery performance than its siblings.

What else is coming in Android 15?

Android 15 users are offered a completely separate, private area for apps and data that they don’t want to appear on their main screen, similar to Samsung’s Secure Folder.

This lets users hide sensitive apps and information – like photo albums or Chrome – in a separate section within the app drawer that requires additional verification to open, such as a passcode or fingerprint. This means that even if family or friends get their hands on your phone, they still won’t be able to see certain content.

Also from a security perspective, Theft Detection Lock uses AI to detect if your phone has been stolen at high speed and automatically locks the screen. This means that even if thieves grab your device, they won’t be able to access it.

The same automatic blocking also applies if too many incorrect authentication attempts are made.

There will also be an update to passkeys, with the account selection screen and confirmation screen now combined into one.

And one update could make a big splash: users can now set custom vibrations for specific notification channels. This means that those whose phones are on silent (i.e. most of us) will know whether the latest notification is a WhatsApp, SMS or email by hearing a buzzer in their pocket.

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