Google hasn't spent much time talking about Android2024 at Google I/O15, but it's still in progress. Android15beta2 has just landed and the final release is expected to arrive later this year — probably late summer or just before the launch of Pixel10 on May 9.

Android has made some big bets on AI as a whole, and Google has announced an upgrade to Google Gemini, including Project Astra object recognition, real-time fraud alerts and content, but Android15 and other ecosystems still have a lot of features. 

Here are the best new Android features announced at Google I/O2024:

Google has made it much easier to hide sensitive files and images on your phone in recent years, and now things are a step further in private space This is the first time that Android can hide and protect apps at the system level, although some Android phones had previously offered features like this.

However, private spaces don't just hide apps. It sounds more like a partition, locking your sensitive apps and related data behind an extra layer of authentication. So when these apps are locked, all associated media and notifications are turned off and separated.

Phone thieves are the bane of modern existence. Well, at least one of them. We keep our whole lives on our phones and losing it to opportunistic robberies can mean putting your personal and financial information at risk. Keeping your phone locked adds some security, but it will not help if someone snatches your phone as you are using it.

Theft Detection Lock uses google AI to detect when a phone is taken from you and if someone tries to get away with it. That day

the keynote at Google I/O saw the announcement of new features designed to protect users from fraudulent phone calls, but the fraud prevention tools that come to Android are not only that, until this is detected, your phone will immediately lock down and you can get online and erase its contents. Google Play Protect leverages AI on mobile phone devices to detect apps in real time that may be involved in fraud or phishing attempts.

The idea here is that threat detection tools can monitor and analyze how apps use sensitive permissions and interact with other apps. If anything goes wrong, Google Play Protect will disable the app, alert affected users, and send the app itself to Google for review. This is done on the device, which means that Google can do all of these without collecting or transmitting personal data.

Google Wallet is great for storing credit cards as well as other supported digital-based passes and loyalty card information. As for everything else, they had to stay in your real wallet, but not for long.

Android users in the United States can create a digital version of a real-world path and store it in Google Wallet. Examples include event tickets, library cards, car insurance cards, gym membership and more. Just snap a photo with the Google Wallet app and beat it digital the whole thing for you for when you need it most This will certainly shoot everything as a heck and keep it with obviously less secure Google Photos.

We're just wondering if it's possible to do a backup of your passport or other Id. Just in case

Google Maps is getting AR content and is not talking about the direction of the live view. The idea is that these new AR experiences are designed to help "learn about the place in a new immersive way.""The idea is that this will be the foundation of the XR platform that Google is developing in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm, but the details of that platform are still unknown.

The first Google Maps AR experience will be launched in Singapore and Paris.

Certain cars that run on Google's Android Automotive OS will get many entertainment options in the near future. Specific access to Max and Peacock for streaming, along with mobile games like Angry Birds. Like Google's other entertainment apps for cars, these only work if you're parked and not actually moving.

Google did not specify all the cars that would get these apps, but confirmed that the Nissan Rouge, Renault R5, Acura ZDX and Ford Explorer with Google built-in are among them. But Rivian's owners, and eventually other Android auto cars, will get Google Cast support — if you're a dev on the car's infotainment screen

Finally, if you're constantly struggling to find what to watch, Google TV will leverage AI and Google Gemini to create something worth watching in a sea of streaming content.

Plus Google TV enters untranslated sections and descriptions of all shows and movies on your home screen where Gemini is selected based on your personal preferences, including your favorite genres and actors. This can be of great help to those who like foreign films or who are very frustrated when they decide that English films do not deserve subtitles in foreign language scenes.