Google won’t let cheap Android phones and tablets ship with only 16GB storage anymore

Whereas the perfect Android phones embody no less than 128GB of inner storage, many budget-friendly phones supply significantly much less. Some Android gadgets even ship with as little as 16GB of storage, a good portion of which the Android working system occupies. Regardless of Google’s efforts to compress Android and its cell apps for low-end {hardware}, 16GB of storage doesn’t present a lot area for apps, leading to a poor person expertise. That’s why Google lately elevated the minimal storage requirement for Android gadgets.

Beginning with Android 15, Google now requires Android gadgets to have no less than 32GB of inner storage. Google mandates that 75% of this 32GB have to be allotted to the information partition, which shops preinstalled system apps, system app information, sure system information, and crucially, all person apps and information. This doubles the earlier minimal flash storage requirement of 16GB, launched with Android 13 in 2022. Consequently, gadgets with lower than 32GB of storage can’t improve to Android 15, as Google’s new requirement applies to each new and upgrading gadgets.

Google can’t legally stop producers from constructing smartphones with lower than 32GB of storage as long as these phones use the open supply model of Android (AOSP), as AOSP’s licensing phrases don’t permit such restrictions. Nonetheless, Google can implement this requirement on firms looking for to ship Android smartphones with Google Cell Companies (GMS), as GMS is proprietary. The minimal flash storage dimension requirement is specified within the confidential GMS Necessities doc, a doc outlining the principles gadgets should meet to acquire a GMS license. Most smartphone and pill makers adhere to those guidelines as a result of a GMS license is important for achievement; with out it, gadgets can’t ship with core Google apps just like the Google Play Retailer and Google Play Companies.

Google hopes that rising the minimal flash storage dimension to 32GB will enhance the person expertise on low-end Android gadgets, which account for almost all of Android machine gross sales worldwide. This variation will present extra space for apps for each customers and authentic gear producers (OEMs). Nonetheless, elevated storage capability doesn’t assure quicker storage speeds, and most of those gadgets will possible nonetheless use slower eMMC storage chips. That is comprehensible, although, since UFS chips are dearer than eMMC chips, making their exclusion on price range {hardware} a standard compromise.

Along with the elevated minimal flash storage dimension, Android 15 gadgets should meet different new necessities to go GMS certification. Whereas most of those new necessities are underneath the hood or apply only to chipset distributors moderately than OEMs, one new requirement has important security implications for customers.

Google states that mobile gadgets launching with Android 15 or later should supply customers the choice to share their emergency contacts information with the system’s Emergency Location Service throughout emergency calls. This function permits customers to decide in to share their emergency contacts alongside with location information when contacting emergency companies. This permits emergency companies to extra simply attain out to emergency contacts for updates or extra data. To guard person privateness, Google mandates a transparent disclosure about what data could also be shared with emergency companies and requires blocking contact information sharing except the person opts in.

One other key new requirement is that Android 15 mandates that new chipsets assist Vulkan 1.3 or increased, and comply with the Android Baseline 2022 profile and Vulkan Profile for Android 15. Moreover, gadgets working Android 15 or later (excluding these working Android Go Version) should embody ANGLE libraries and present a means for app builders to make use of these libraries as replacements for the native OpenGL ES driver. ANGLE primarily interprets older OpenGL ES calls to Vulkan, enabling trendy gadgets with out native OpenGL ES drivers to assist older apps and video games. Google specifies that whereas these ANGLE libraries don’t have to be enabled by default in Android 15, they have to be enabled by default in Android 16.

The Vulkan and ANGLE necessities in Android 15 aren’t shocking, particularly given Google’s latest announcement that Vulkan is now the official graphics API for Android. For the reason that firm goals to make Android a number one gaming platform, enhancing Vulkan API assist is a key step. Subsequently, Google is utilizing GMS Necessities to steadily elevate the usual for Vulkan API function assist on Android gadgets.

The ultimate requirement change price noting is a slight adjustment to Android’s minimal RAM requirement. To obtain GMS certification, Android 14 gadgets with 2GB of RAM should allow Android’s low reminiscence optimizations (Android Go Version). Whereas Android 15 gadgets with 2GB of RAM can nonetheless obtain GMS certification, this low reminiscence optimization requirement now additionally applies to gadgets with 3GB of RAM. Presently, OEMs can select whether or not gadgets with 4GB of RAM use Android’s low reminiscence optimizations, however this will change into obligatory within the subsequent Android launch. It’s good to see Google improve the minimal reminiscence an Android machine should have, as this specification considerably impacts person expertise.

The remainder of the brand new Android 15 necessities are both minor or not related to most customers, however I’ve listed them beneath anyhow for completeness:

• Chipsets that set ro.board.first_api_level or ro.board.api_level to 202404 and assist any of the above CHRE performance MUST declare the android.{hardware}.context_hub function flag.
• Chipsets that set ro.board.first_api_level or ro.board.api_level to 202404 MUST assist ID attestation.
• Chipsets that set ro.board.first_api_level or ro.board.api_level to 202404 MUST implement StrongBox when the underlying {hardware} helps it, Distant Provisioning v3 HAL interface within the {hardware} occasion on the AP which helps the first KeyMint occasion to be able to provision KeyMint attestation keys, KeyMint 3.0 or increased HAL interface in safe {hardware} that has efficiency much like the AP, and present Android Profile for DICE assist for the Distant Provisioning HAL interface.
• Chipsets that launch with Android 15 assist (ro.board.first_api_level or ro.board.api_level to 202404) are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to package deal every HAL in a vendor APEX. This may change into MUST in Android 16.
• Chipsets that launch with Android 15 assist and that assist Bluetooth 5.0 or increased are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to allow listening to help assist over Bluetooth LE for the ASHA protocol. This may change into MUST in Android 16.
• Chipsets that launch with Android 15 assist are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to assist Widevine L1 and embody a corresponding safe decoder for each {hardware} AVC, HEVC, VP9, or AV1 decoder on the machine. This may change into MUST in 16.
• Distant Key Provisioning Mainline module is now STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to be preloaded in Android 15 however will change into MUST in Android 16.