Android 15 Update Has a 32GB Storage Requirement—Is Your Phone Eligible?
What is the storage capacity of your phone? If you have a low-end phone with 32GB of storage, you cannot get the Android 15 update. Yes, you read it right. According to Google’s latest report, it requires at least 32GB of storage for smartphones to have Android 15’s suite of apps and preinstalled Google Mobile Services or GMS. Of those 32GB, at least 75% of the storage size has to be dedicated to the data partition, which stores preinstalled system apps, system app data, certain system files, and all user apps and files.
As technology advances, Google also increases the storage capacity of its operating system (OS). Before Android 13, there was a minimum of 8GB of storage limit for OS. For Andorid 13 and 14, Google set the limit of 16GB. Now, it has doubled the storage limit for Android 15.
Android 15 Update Has a 32GB Storage Requirement—Is Your Phone Eligible?
The same goes for RAM. All the devices with less than 2GB of RAM won’t get the GMS at all. However, the devices with 2GB and 3GB of RAM must use Android Go Edition. For those who don’t know about Android Go Edition, this is the version specially designed for ultra-low-end phones.
Moreover, the devices which have 4GB of RAM can still get GMS and run full Android 15. But for those who are looking for Android 16, they need at least 6GB of RAM. So, if you are looking for a new smartphone, keep in mind that RAM and storage capacity should be your priorities if you want to run the latest version of Android.
Now, the question that is coming into my mind while writing this article is what about those who can’t afford the phones with maximum RAM and Storage options. In developing countries, most people use low-end devices with a maximum of 32GB of storage. This also means that they won’t be able to use the advanced version of the Android operating system. Although many Chinese companies have now started developing phones with a lot of storage, But then comes the affordability issues. Most of the devices with 64GB or more storage options do not lie in the low-end device category.
See also: Android 15: A Privacy-Focused Update with AI-Powered Security
In Pakistan, around 68% of people are using smartphones, including every range of phones (low-end, mid-range and high-end). If we assume that at least 18% of people are using low-end devices with low storage options. We can say that around 50% of the people in Pakistan won’t be able to use Android 15, which is actually a big value.
If we look at the positive side of the picture, we can say that most people are now using mid-range smartphones with advanced features at affordable prices. Also, almost all mid-range smartphones come with 64GB or more storage options. So most of the users will be able to get the Android 15 Update. Anyhow, globally, most of the users have switched to the phones with 64GB and above storage options. So, we can say that it won’t bother many.
Apart from this announcement, Google is also requiring devices on Android 15 to give users the option to share their emergency contacts data with the system’s Emergency Location Service during emergency calls. Yes, the latest versions come with the advanced options. This feature will let you share your emergency contacts along with your location data when contacting emergency services. This feature is really helpful in case of emergency, so that you can be located easily.
Google’s push for higher storage and RAM requirements with Android 15 shows the growing complexity and capabilities of modern mobile operating systems. We hope that with growing competition the production costs drop. So that the budget smartphones could also handle these advancements without leaving a large portion of users behind.
