Google will release the Android 15 later this year. The tech giant is trying to make Android 15 ultra-safe for consumers by not only protecting their digital privacy but also helping users track their phones when it is switched off. Currently, if you are relying on Google's Find My Device to locate or track your phone when it is lost, you can only do that if your phone is switched on. Since the battery of your phone can always run off or your phone can be switched off by another person, it becomes hard to track the device in such a scenario.
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Google plans to introduce a new Powered Off Finding API to Android 15. With this API, locating devices even when they are powered off will be possible, according to an Android Police report. The system works by storing pre-computed Bluetooth beacons within the memory of the Bluetooth controller.
But there's something that we need to understand here. Not every phone running on Android 15 would be able to support this. This is because there would requirement for specialised hardware. Thus, while many old devices would get Android 15 from their respective OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), it wouldn't necessarily mean that they will be able to take advantage of this feature.
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The report said that Google Pixel 9 would be able to support this. Further, the Pixel 8 could also support this as it has required hardware specifications. One thing to note here is that the feature would require some battery, even if the phone is switched off. Google hasn't given a concrete date for the rollout of Android 15. But we can expect it to be rolled out officially during mid-2024, starting with the Pixel 9 series and then as per the trend, Samsung might become one of the first OEMs to roll it out for its flagship devices.