At its I/O 2024 event on Tuesday, Google announced AI major updates for Gemini, Project Astra, and Google Chrome. But the company had more announcements up its sleeve. On Wednesday, it released Android 15 Beta 2, which gives developers and users a sneak peek at the upcoming features that will be rolled out to selected phones later this year.
One of the key new features has to do with security. Phone thefts are very common, and Google plans to make it difficult for thieves to access users’ information. The plan involves the phone itself going into defensive mode.
As mentioned before, Android 15 will be released later this year. However, we already know about some of the new features coming to Google’s latest OS. There will be improvements in Gemini, native app integration, and two important new security features.
One is called Private Space. As the name suggests, it’ll serve as a secure area for our most important apps, such as banking and messaging apps. These apps will be stored in a protected space, hidden from plain view. Google describes it as a "digital safe" where users can hide apps.
Even if the phone is unlocked, accessing this secure folder will require going through the authentication process again. This additional security measure ensures that even if someone has access to our unlocked phone, they won’t be able to access these protected apps.
However, this isn't the most noteworthy security feature coming to Android 15. Android phones that receive the update will be able to use AI and physical sensors to detect if someone tries to snatch our phone.
If a theft is detected and the thief tries to run away (on foot, motorbike, bike, or car), the phone will be automatically blocked, preventing access to the owner’s data. Many expect this feature to be a key addition to the stable version of Android 15, although there’s no news on when Google will release it.
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