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Android 15‘s redesigned volume panel is now live for beta users. First spotted in a developer preview build in early April, the new design is available with Android 15 Beta 2. The latest beta version also brings several other changes, including the ability to pin apps to the taskbar and custom vibration effects for app notifications.
Android 15 Beta 2 introduces the redesigned volume panel
When you press the volume button on your device, a slider appears on the screen for quickly adjusting the sound level. You can expand it to open up an overflow menu with more options. You get individual sliders for adjusting the ringtone, media, alarm, call, and notification volume. Some OEMs tweak this overflow menu on their custom Android skins, as Samsung does on One UI. But the overall functionality remains the same.
On Pixels, Google introduced this system with Android 10 and hasn’t changed its design much since. Android 15 now brings a notable redesign, particularly for the expanded panel (the slider is largely unchanged). The company has added the Material You design element to the expanded volume panel, which now has a bottom sheet-based UI. It has also made the sliders wider with vibrant colors.
This update also adds new functionality to the volume panel. At the top of the sheet is an audio output switcher that lets you quickly select a device for media playback. Android OS already offers this function via the media widget in Quick Settings, but adding it to the volume panel makes it more accessible and easily reachable through multiple places. The new design also has a shortcut for Live Caption at the bottom.
Last but not least, Android 15’s redesigned volume panel shows a slider for Cast volume when the context demands it. You can also collapse the sheet through a button next to the “Media” slider. If you want to see all sliders, you can tap the same button. Your Pixel phone will remember the last used status when you expand the volume panel the next time.
The latest beta update is rolling out to users
If you have enrolled your Pixel device for Google’s Android 15 beta program, the second beta update is rolling out. It should be soon available for all eligible users. As said earlier, the latest release contains a lot of new features, changes, and improvements. Google will probably roll out a couple more beta builds before announcing the stable Android 15 update for Pixels.
