Less than a month ago, Google formally announced Android 15 and released the first developer preview for the software update. Now, Google is rolling out Android 15 Developer Preview 2 — and with it — a few new features that weren’t in Developer Preview 1.
So, what’s new in this second developer preview? Here are the biggest things to keep an eye out for.
Satellite connectivity has been a big talking point for smartphones since Apple introduced it on the iPhone 14 series. Now, for Android phones that eventually offer the feature, Android 15 will ensure you know exactly when you’re connected and what you can do with your satellite connection.
As you can see in the screenshot above, Android 15 will show the name of your satellite network in the top left corner, a satellite icon in the top right, plus a notification alerting you that you’re connected to a satellite network. Further, Android 15 “provides support for SMS/MMS applications as well as preloaded RCS applications to use satellite connectivity for sending and receiving messages.”
Among all the folding phones available today, flip phones — like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Motorola Razr Plus — are a big part of them. These phones have a small cover screen on the front, and in some instances, you can run full applications on those tiny displays.
Android 15 now allows developers to easily flag their apps as being allowed to run on these cover screens. As Googe explains in its press release, “These screens are too small to be considered as compatible targets for Android apps to run on, but your app can opt-in to supporting them, making your app available in more places.” In short, this should mean better app experiences on cover screens. As a flip phone foldable fan, you love to see it.
NFC isn’t the most exciting smartphone spec to talk about, but it is an important one — especially if you rely on Google Wallet for contactless payments. This is another area Android 15 addresses.
On “supported devices,” Google says apps can “request the NfcAdapter enter observe mode, where the device will listen but not respond to NFC readers, sending the app’s NFC service PollingFrame objects to process.” In simpler terms, this means any NFC interactions you have on your phone should be smoother than ever. NFC already works quite well on Android phones, but if you’ve ever had to hold your phone to an NFC reader a couple of times before it finally works, Android 15 should make that a thing of the past.
So, we’ve got a better experience with satellite connectivity, improved cover screen support on foldables, and some NFC upgrades. Is there anything else? Here’s a lightning-round of other updates coming in Android 15 Developer Preview 2:
Android 15 Developer Preview 2 is rolling out now and is available for the Google Pixel 6, Pixel 7, and Pixel 8 series phones, in addition to the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet. Should you go off and download it?
Our advice from the first developer preview still stands. For most people, no, you should not download Android 15 DP 2. As the name suggests, Developer Preview 2 is still very much meant for developers — not everyday users. We’ll get to that point soon enough (the first beta release is on track for April), but until then, you’re better off watching Android 15 from the sidelines.
Affinity’s new all-in-one creative app is finally coming to the iPad, nearly a year after Canva launched the redesigned desktop version for Mac and Windows. Creatives have been asking for the iPad release ever since, especially because files created in the new Affinity app cannot be opened in the older V2 iPad apps.
Affinity already has Photo, Designer, and Publisher apps on iPad, but the new release combines those tools into the same unified app that Canva launched on desktop last year.
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Apple has just launched its latest iPad mini with a notable set of upgrades, including an OLED screen, improved speakers, and a more resilient build. It also gets a new chip, and the whole package costs $200 more than its predecessor. But if you look closely at Apple’s online store, you’ll realize that $699 isn’t enough to get you the most powerful version of the A20 Pro chip inside this tablet. In fact, even if you pay $800 for the 256GB model, you still won’t get the beefiest variant. Only when you jump to the 512GB trim, which costs an absurd $999, do you get the most powerful flavor of the A20 Pro.
The $999 model gets more than extra storage