7 Android 15 features you can bring to any phone today

No Android 15? No problem. You can still enjoy some of the fancy new features from Google’s latest Android version — no matter who made your current device or how old it might be.

Android 15 officially landed in the world with a bit of a thud in early September, when Google released the software’s source code, but the first real rollout only just got going this week — with current Pixel devices, as usual, being at the front of the pack.

How long it’ll take other Android device-makers to follow suit is, as always, an open question. (Seriously — have you seen my breakdowns over time?!) But while we can’t force those companies to make timely software support more of a priority, we can get out ahead of ’em and get creative to bring some Android-15-inspired splendor your way.

Here, specifically, are seven Android 15 features you can add onto any Android phone today — along with two bonus features that were under development but didn’t quite make the cut into this latest Android update.

Get ready for a massive upgrade to your Android experience — no official rollouts needed.

[Psst: Want even more advanced Android knowledge? Check out my free Android Shortcut Supercourse to learn tons of time-saving tricks for any phone you’re using.]

Android 15 feature #1: Private Space

Up first is the highest profile new Android 15 feature — and, in many ways, the easiest one to emulate on devices that aren’t yet running Android 15.

It’s called Private Space, and it’s essentially a way to add an extra layer of security onto sensitive apps or apps with especially important info. You can require authentication to open such apps and even hide ’em completely out of sight in a special locked-down area of your app drawer, if you really want to keep ’em tucked away.

Google’s Private Space feature, as seen on a Pixel phone running Android 15.JR Raphael, IDG