Google Sets 32GB Storage and New RAM Rules for Android 15 Devices

Google Sets 32GB Storage and New RAM Rules: Most modern Android smartphones now offer at least 128GB of storage, though a portion of this is taken up by the operating system and pre-installed apps. The rest is reserved for third-party apps and user data. However, some budget phones still have only 16GB or 32GB in storage, which is a huge inconvenience to have. To address this, the Mountain View giant is reportedly planning to raise the minimum storage requirement for devices running Android 15.

Google Raises Android 15 Requirements: 32GB Storage, RAM Limits, and Emergency Contact Sharing

As reported by Android Authority, all smartphones shipping with Android 15 or later must have a minimum of 32GB of internal storage, 75% of which will be allocated to a data partition, the section that holds the system files, pre-installed apps, and the app data itself. Previously, the minimum storage was 16GB (introduced with Android 13 in 2022), and before that, just 8GB.

While manufacturers can still build phones with less than 32GB of storage using the open-source version of Android (AOSP), but for devices that want to use Google Mobile Services (GMS) — including apps like Google Play Store, Google YouTube, Google Gmail, and Google Search — must comply to the new storage requirement. GMS offers a consistent Android experience, and devices that don’t include it depend on alternative app stores and don’t get regular security updates from Google.

In addition to storage, Google has also revised the minimum RAM requirements for Android 15. Devices with 2GB or 3GB of RAM are required to install Android Go Edition, optimized for entry-level hardware, while those with 4GB or more will be able to run the full Android 15.

Another new Android 15 mandate is that smartphones must allow users to choose whether to share emergency contact information with Android’s Emergency Location Services during a distress call. This would enable emergency services to contact a user’s emergency contact for further information. Manufacturers will need to clearly state what data the feature shares, and it will only be an opt-in feature.

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