Google raises Android 15’s minimum storage requirement to 32 GB to boost performance on budget Phone | Technology News

Google has issued an important update for Android smartphone makers to help further elevate the user experience, even on budget smartphones. First reported Android Authority on Monday, Google has now specified that any smartphone shipping with Android 15 must offer at least 32 GB of internal storage, which is 75 per cent more than Android 14’s requirement of 16 GB.
As phones become an integral part of our lives, it is important to get one with a good amount of flash storage. In fact, it is in users’ best interest to consider a device with at least 128 GB of internal storage in 2025.
However, many budget Android smartphones, especially affordable options, still ship with much less storage. With new features and capabilities in Android 15, Google has made it mandatory for devices to have at least 32 GB of internal storage.
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While this might not affect devices running on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), it will impact those shipping with Google Mobile Services (GMS), which include various Google-owned apps and services like the Play Store, YouTube, and more. Any smartphone that wishes to offer Android 15 along with GMS will now be required to offer at least 32 GB of internal storage.
Similarly, Google has also made it mandatory for Android smartphones to support Vulkan 1.3 or higher, which was recently declared the official computing and graphics API for Android OS.
In addition, while the minimum amount of RAM for Android 15-powered devices remains at 2 GB, Google recommends that brands offer 3 or 4 GB of RAM for a more optimised user experience.
For someone using a flagship or mid-range device, these requirements might not seem like much. However, for budget smartphones, these minimum hardware requirements ensure that the user experience remains usable.
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