Android 15 Release Readiness Checklist
Android 15 made predictive back gesture opt-in for all apps (previously optional), tightened storage permission enforcement, and introduced new health permissions for fitness apps. This checklist covers the changes that most commonly cause Play Store review rejections and user-facing regressions.
Predictive back gesture
Predictive back is now the system-enforced default in Android 15. Apps that have not implemented OnBackPressedCallback or migrated from the deprecated onBackPressed() method will show broken predictive back animations on Android 15 devices.
- All Activities implement OnBackPressedCallback (not deprecated onBackPressed)
- Custom back animations use WindowInsetsController predictive back APIs
- Back navigation across Fragments is handled via FragmentManager.OnBackStackChangedListener
- Deep-linked Activities correctly restore back stack for predictive back animation
- WebViews with custom back handling use shouldOverrideUrlLoading correctly
Storage and permissions
Android 15 splits the READ_MEDIA_IMAGES and READ_MEDIA_VIDEO permissions into more granular scopes and introduces READ_MEDIA_VISUAL_USER_SELECTED for photo picker selection.
- Photo/video access uses Photo Picker API instead of requesting full READ_MEDIA_IMAGES
- Apps targeting SDK 35 declare READ_MEDIA_VISUAL_USER_SELECTED for partial media access
- Storage permission requests show accurate rationale (not legacy storage permission strings)
- File access patterns avoid deprecated Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory()
Android vitals and Play Store
Google Play updated Android vitals thresholds in the Android 15 cycle.
- Cold start rate above 5 seconds below 5% of sessions on all declared device tiers
- ANR rate below 0.47% of daily sessions
- Crash rate below 1.09% of daily sessions
- App compiles cleanly against SDK 35 with no deprecation errors
- 64-bit binary present (32-bit only apps blocked from new submissions since 2024)
Frequently asked questions
Predictive back is a UI pattern where the user can preview the previous screen behind the current screen as they swipe back, before committing to the back action. It was introduced as opt-in in Android 13, became the recommended pattern in Android 14, and is now the default system behavior in Android 15. Apps using the deprecated onBackPressed() method will show a broken transition animation.
Predictive back requires Android 13+ to test. MAT's device lab includes Pixel 6 through Pixel 9 on Android 13, 14, and 15. We run predictive back gesture validation as part of our Android Release Readiness service.
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