Google rushes out Android 15 Beta 2.1 to fix issues with private space

Summary

• Google released Android 15 Beta 2.1 to fix an issue with the new private space feature, ensuring icons don’t disappear from the home screen.
• This update is considered minor, with no noted changes beyond fixing the icon issue. Eligible Pixels are receiving the update starting today.
• Users updating from Beta 2 may see a larger initial download size, but subsequent checks should result in a much smaller update.

Almost a month after Beta 1.2 and a full day of AI announcements at I/O 2024, Google rather unceremoniously rolled out Android 15 Beta 2 towards the middle of last week. But here we are five days later and the next version of Android just got its second update in less than a week.

Google announced Android 15 Beta 2.1 today, and the main point of the update is to fix an issue with the new private space feature where icons for apps you added to the space were removed from the home screen. The full release notes admit that this is a “minor update” that begins rolling out to all eligible Pixels today, and it still carries the same May 2024 security patch date as Beta 2, so not much else has changed. The build number for this update is AP31.240426.023, and it ships with Play Services version 24.15.18.

Android 15 Beta 2.1 (May 2024)

This minor update to Android 15 Beta 2 fixes the issue where creating a private space on a device for the first time removed app icons from the Home screen (or Home screens if more than one Home screen had been added). (
Issue #340868295
)

All eligible devices enrolled in the
Android Beta for Pixel program
will be offered an over-the-air (OTA) update to Beta 2.1.

Interestingly, the new version clocked in at 2.57GB on one of our devices before downloading. However, after rebooting without applying the update, the version offered up on a second check was only 12.12MB. It appears that Google may have initially sent out the full OTA to everyone, regardless of the previous version installed. Now, checking for updates should yield a much smaller file size if you’re updating from Android 15 Beta 2.

Android 15 Beta 2.1 is only for Pixel phones

This update does not apply to any of the new devices announced as part of the expanded Android 15 beta program last week. These include phones from Honor, Iqoo, Lenovo, Nothing, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Tecno, Vivo, and Xiaomi, which will all receive their own, individually numbered beta releases. This, being Google’s version of Android 15, only applies to Pixel devices enrolled in the beta program.

We’ve already received the update on several Pixels. To see if it’s available, head to Settings → System → Software update → System update and tap the Check for updates button. Those who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty in a command line might prefer the manual method, but you’ll need either the OTA file or the factory images for that.

Thanks: Armando, Hamzah, and Moshe