Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL; Dr
- Google is preparing to redesign the Settings app in Android 15 to make it more organized.
- In Beta 3, new code reveals how the top-level settings page will organize entries into visually distinct sections.
- This change will make it easier to quickly find the submenu you are looking for.
If you open the Android Settings app in the latest Android 15 beta, you won’t see any changes because there aren’t any. However, a future version of Android 15 may bring a reorganized top-level settings page, according to an Android Authority analysis.
Ann Disassembling the APK helps predict features that may appear in a service in the future based on code in progress. However, it is possible that such intended features may not make it to a public release.
Right now, if you look at the layout of the top-level settings page in, say, Android 14 on a Pixel phone, there’s no real rhyme or reason to why certain menu items are where they are. Some of the more frequently used menu items are placed earlier in the list, but otherwise there is no particular order. Also, because there are so many different menu items grouped together on the top-level page, it can be a challenge for new Pixel users to quickly find the page they’re looking for.
Thankfully, Android 15’s revamped top-level settings page will put similar menu items next to each other in visually distinct sections. This updated top-level page isn’t live yet from the latest Android 15 Beta 3 update that’s currently rolling out, but we have an idea of what the layout will be like.
For reference, here’s the order of entries on the top-level settings page in Android 14 on Pixel phones, to how the top-level settings page might be laid out in a future Android 15 release:
Android 14 Top Level Settings Layout (Current):
- Network and Internet
- Hub Mode (Pixel Tablet only)
- Connected devices
- Applications
- Notifications
- Battery
- Storage
- Sound and vibration
- Display
- Wallpaper and style
- Accessibility
- Security and privacy
- Location
- Safety and urgency
- Passwords, passwords and autofill
- Digital well-being and parental controls
- System
- About the phone
- Advice and support
Android 15 Top Level Settings Page (coming soon):
- Network and Internet
- Connected devices
— - Applications
- Notifications
- Sound and vibration
- Hub Mode (Pixel Tablet only)
- Display
- Wallpaper and style
— - Storage
- Battery
- System
- About the phone
— - Security and privacy
- Location
- Passwords, passwords and accounts
— - Safety and urgency
- Accessibility
- Advice and support
Finally, here’s a screenshot showing the top-level settings in Android 14 next to a mockup of what I think the top-level settings page will look like in an upcoming Android 15 release.
You’ll immediately notice that two entries are missing from the Android 15 list: “Google” and “Digital well-being and parental controls.” The reason they are missing is not because Google is removing them, but rather because they are not listed in the (currently unused) top_level_settings_v2 XML file on the preferences screen. In fact, no record is listed in the top_level_settings Preferences screen XML currently read by the Settings app to determine the top-level page layout.
So how do these two entries end up on the page? The Google Play Services and Digital Wellbeing apps use system-only APIs to inject their respective entry points into the Settings app. Unfortunately, because of this, I don’t know exactly where Google and Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls will fit. Still, if I had to guess, I’d put them both under the “Passwords, Access Keys, and Accounts” entry.
Another thing to note about the list above: Dashes indicate where each section begins and ends. Although there is currently no header between each section, the sections appear to be categorized as follows: Account, Connect, Personalization, System Information, Security & Privacy, and Support. The Connectivity category consists of Network & Internet and Connected Devices, the Support category has Security & Emergency, Accessibility, and Tips & Support items, and so on. The first top-level Account category is empty, so I’m not sure what will be put there, but whatever it is, it will be at the top of the page.
What other settings-related changes are there in Android 15 Beta 3?
While the top-level settings page redesign isn’t live yet in Android 15 Beta 3, the update made a few other minor changes to the Settings app. For example, the “Device and app notifications” entry in Settings > Notifications has been renamed to “Read, respond to, and control notifications.” “Manage screen on” replaces “Screen on” in Settings > Apps > Special app access. Finally, the description for the “Allow camera software extensions” switch in Settings > Security & privacy > More security & privacy has been changed as follows:
Android 15 Beta 2.2: “Enables the default software implementation of advanced camera features such as Eyes Free video recording.”
Android 15 Beta 3: “Enables default software implementation of advanced camera features, such as HDR, Night, or other camera extensions.”
“Eyes Free videography” refers to the new Camera2 vendor extension in Android 15 that allows third-party camera apps to use an OEM-provided algorithm to lock and stabilize a region or object of interest. Google changing the description of the “allow camera software extensions” switch to remove the reference to “eyeless videography” may signal that they are not ready to provide a software implementation of this particular extension. However, it’s worth noting that the description suggests that default software implementations of HDR, Night, “or other camera enhancements” may be supported, which may still include the new Eyeless Video mode.
