TL;DR
- An early beta of Android 15 offered active noise cancelation (ANC) and spatial audio controls baked right into the new volume control panel.
- However, Google then removed these features, leading us to believe it might not land with the full, stable launch of the OS.
- Now, via an issue tracker page for the problem, it appears the features will come back when Android 15 is stable.
Way back in March, we told you about how we found evidence that Android 15 could have a newly designed and collapsible volume panel with even more controls. While the overall design of the panel stuck around in future beta launches of the operating system, two controls vanished: active noise cancelation (ANC) and spatial audio. At the time, it wasn’t clear why Google took these controls away. Even today, using Android 15 QPR1 beta 1, these controls are missing.
Now, we have evidence that Google is bringing these features back, but not until Android 15 becomes stable. According to a Googler’s response on this issue tracker (via the Google News Telegram account), the lack of ANC and spatial audio controls within the latest betas of Android 15 is “intended behavior,” and Google “will have an update in the final release.” This strongly suggests these controls are coming back via a server-side switch.
Unfortunately, all evidence points to these controls only really working for Google’s own ANC-sporting earbuds, namely the Pixel Buds Pro and the just-announced Pixel Buds Pro 2 ($229 at Amazon). Even when the ANC and spatial audio controls were temporarily live in Android 15 beta 2, we couldn’t get them to work with just any device.
In the images above, you can see how the controls will work. You’ll have buttons for both “Noise Control” and “Spatial Audio,” and tapping them will open a new floating window that will give you more precise control over those features. This will conveniently allow you to avoid needing to open a specific app to tweak these same controls.
If you aren’t using Pixel Buds, though, the “Live Caption” button is all you see, and it’s centered on the panel.
At the moment, we have no idea when Android 15 will actually go stable. One would have assumed the Google Pixel 9 series would land with Android 15 out of the box, just like every other mainline Pixel phone. However, Android 14 is pre-loaded on Pixel 9 devices, so it could be some weeks or even months before we see it roll out.
