Google is raising the minimum storage requirement for Android devices to improve user experience, especially on low-end devices, starting with Android15. Google now requires Android devices to have at least 32GB of internal storage.
75% of this 32GB must be allocated to the data partition, which stores preinstalled system apps, system app data, certain system files, and all user apps and files. This doubles the previous minimum flash storage requirement of 16GB, introduced with Android13 in 2022. Consequently, devices with less than 32GB of storage cannot upgrade to Android15, as Google’s new requirement applies to both new and upgrading devices.
The new storage requirement is enforced through Google Mobile Services (GMS) certification, essential for devices to include core Google apps like the Google Play Store and Google Play Services. Manufacturers wanting to preinstall Google apps need to meet the requirements. While Google can’t legally prevent manufacturers from building smartphones with less than 32GB of storage using the open-source version of Android (AOSP), GMS certification is crucial for the success of most Android devices. Google hopes that increasing the minimum flash storage size to 32GB will improve the user experience on low-end Android devices, which account for the majority of Android device sales worldwide.
This change will provide more space for apps for both users and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). However, increased storage capacity doesn’t guarantee faster storage speeds, and most of these devices will likely still use slower eMMC storage chips. In addition to the increased minimum flash storage size, Android15 devices must meet other new requirements to pass GMS certification. One significant new requirement is that cellular devices launching with Android15 or later must offer users the option to share their emergency contacts data with the system’s Emergency Location Service during emergency calls.
This feature allows users to opt-in to share their emergency contacts along with location data when contacting emergency services, enabling emergency services to more easily reach out to emergency contacts for updates or additional information. To protect user privacy, Google mandates a clear disclosure about what information may be shared with emergency services and requires blocking contact data sharing unless the user opts in. Another key new requirement is that Android15 mandates that new chipsets support Vulkan1.3 or higher and comply with the Android Baseline2022 profile and Vulkan Profile for Android15.
Furthermore, devices running Android15 or later (excluding those running Android Go Edition) must include ANGLE libraries and provide a way for app developers to use these libraries as replacements for the native OpenGL ES driver. ANGLE translates older OpenGL ES calls to Vulkan, enabling modern devices without native OpenGL ES drivers to support older apps and games. Google specifies that while these ANGLE libraries don’t need to be enabled by default in Android15, they must be enabled by default in Android16. The final requirement change worth noting is a slight adjustment to Android’s minimum RAM requirement.
To receive GMS certification, Android15 devices with 2GB or 3GB of RAM must enable Android’s low memory optimizations (Android Go Edition). This requirement aims to improve the user experience on devices with limited RAM.
