The general reaction to this first look at Android 16's new Quick Settings/notification panel design seems to be positive.

People like the new panels and how they have more space for notifications and QS tiles, but people don't like the idea that you'd have to use two fingers to bring down the QS panel.

As many have pointed out, this is still a very early look, so things can and will change. I hope the two-finger gesture requirement doesn't stick around. If Google changes it, I'll let you all know.

One other thing: @beachfuneral on Telegram pointed out that this new in-development QS/notification panel is actually in Android 15's source code already, so you can build an AOSP ROM and enable it yourself. Here's the documentation on flexiglass to get started.

One of the most exciting new features of Bluetooth 6.0 is Channel Sounding, which offers significantly more precise distance measurements than RSSI.

Even though the spec was just released, Android 15 already supports Channel Sounding.

More details can be found in this article.

Android 15 has made BIG changes to factory reset protection that make it much harder for thieves to sell stolen devices.

Here's everything you need to know about how Google has changed FRP in Android 15, including many previously unreported details.

Neat: You can now freely resize the note window in Google Keep! Slide the grab bar left and right to resize the window.

This is rolling out on both book-style foldables like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and on tablets like the OnePlus Pad 2.

Thanks to Anh on Discord for the tip!

AssembleDebug first spotted this feature about 3 months back, writing about it for Android Authority, but it seems to be widely rolling out now. It's not available on my Galaxy Z Fold 6, oddly, though Keep's tablet UI was never available for me on that device.

Want to use a cheap eSIM plan but don't have an eSIM compatible phone?

Try an eSIM adapter! These nifty cards are basically removable eUICCs that you can provision eSIM profiles onto.

The one I'm recommending uses an open source app to manage profiles. The eSIM management app in question is OpenEUICC, a fully open-souce LPAd implementation for Android. Other eSIM adapters use proprietary, closed source apps and require account sign-ups.

More details on how this works can be found in this article.

Ultra HDR is a great format that lets you save the SDR and HDR version of an image in the same file.

Google is finally making Ultra HDR support a requirement...but only for some phones running Android 15.

Here's how they'll enforce it.

Apps can now block sideloading more easily and force downloads through Google Play, thanks to the Play Integrity API.

The API makes it easy for apps to detect when they weren’t installed from the Play Store and show a "remediation dialog" to fix this.

More details on this change can be found in this article.

Apps can now better protect your data by making you close potentially risky apps

The Play Integrity API has added a new app access risk feature that detects if other apps running on the device can capture the screen or control it.

Here's how it works.

Fast Pair now supports earbuds with Bluetooth LE Audio!

The Fast Pair docs have been updated to say that the service now works with LE Audio accessories, though seemingly Android 15 is required for this to work.

More details over on Android Authority.

Google is experimenting with changing up the way Android shows notifications on the status bar and AOD.

Instead of using the app-supplied icon, Android might instead use the app's home screen icon.

Here's what this icon change would look like.

Tiny little UI experiment in Android 15 that I enabled:

When music is playing, the three-dot menu button in the volume slider can turn into a waveform.

This obviously hasn't rolled out yet, but what do you think of it anyways?

Android 15 is cracking down even harder on sideloading in an effort to combat malware.

The update places further restrictions on what permissions sideloaded apps can easily obtain.

Before you freak out, read this article on Android Authority for the full details.

Android 15 vs Android 16 brightness slider - a quick comparison!

As part of their work to overhaul the notifications & Quick Settings panels in Android 16, Google is also updating the brightness slider to bring it in line with the volume sliders.

What do y'all think?

Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 is imminent!

Build ID is AP41.240823.009.

The keyboard quick switcher feature that I previously spotted is also now live in Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2!

Another feature that I previously reported on is also live in Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2: The new status bar chips for screen recording/screen casting!