Google’s status bar icons could look a lot more like Samsung’s in Android 15

Summary

• Android 15 may bring major design changes to Pixel phones, with status bar icons more closely resembling Samsung’s.
• Hidden in the developer preview are segmented battery and connectivity indicators, along with a horizontal battery display.
• Android 15 may also introduce more haptic feedback, such as vibration when tapping quick settings toggles and changing the volume.

Google’s last big Android redesign took place when it switched to its wallpaper-based Material You color scheme with Android 12. While Android 15 doesn’t seem to have an equally big update in store for us, it could be one of the biggest design changes to Android on Pixel phones we’ve seen in a while. According to evidence found in Android 15 Developer Preview 2, Google could significantly redesign its status bar icons, making them look more like the ones Samsung has been using for a long time.

Writing for Android Authority, Mishaal Rahman managed to activate hidden flags in the developer preview that showcase brand-new battery, Wi-Fi, and mobile radio indicators. Rather than showing smooth and fully filled out blocks, they’re clearly segmented, with different levels of gray and white depicting how good your connection is. Meanwhile, the battery is tipping over from its vertical design to be horizontal, which makes it possible to display the battery level inside the battery rather than next to it — though you can turn that off if you don’t like it.

The status bar design has been largely unchanged since Android 5 Lollipop, when Google first introduced Material Design and solid block status icons. This only changed a little in Android 10. You were able to pick between a few alternative designs, with some of them looking similar to what we see in the Android 15 leak. However, Google removed this option with Android 12. With this in mind, Android 15 might either bring back some of these alternative options again, or the company is just fully switching to a different design for everyone using a Pixel.

Android 15 could also add more haptic feedback

The new status bar design has segmented icons like we know from Samsung, Xiaomi, and Honor (left to right)

Mishaal Rahman further notes that Google is also working on more haptic feedback in Android 15. You will notice a subtle vibration when you tap or tap and hold a quick settings toggle in the notification shade. Just like with the brightness adjuster, you’ll also notice haptic feedback when you move the volume slider via touch when it appears by pressing either volume key on your phone.

Since both the new icon designs and the haptic feedback aren’t publicly available yet, it’s possible they could still either undergo significant changes or that they could not make it into the final release. It’s also possible that Google already has these features finished but wants to wait for the first Android 15 Beta release to hit to showcase them to the public. Even then, the icon design and haptic feedback may undergo significant changes until the stable release later this year.