The date for Google I/O 2024 was just set for May 14, 2024, and part of the event will be showcasing all the new features arriving with Android 15 this year – including, perhaps, the ability to find lost devices even when they’re offline.
This is a feature that’s been talked about since last year, but it’s back in the headlines: Android Police has done some code digging in Android and says the feature is likely to roll out to the Google Pixel 9 and quite possibly the Google Pixel 8 with Android 15.
However, offline device tracking can’t be switched on for every device: it requires some additional engineering at the hardware level. It doesn’t look as though handsets such as the Google Pixel 7 or the Google Pixel Fold are going to get the feature.
This will work – as it does on the iPhone 11 and later iPhones – by keeping Bluetooth beacon signaling active even when the rest of the handset is shut down. Those beacons can then be picked up by other gadgets that support device tracking as they pass by, and reported back to the owner.
Coming soon-ish
There is a caveat to all of this, which is that the expansion of Google‘s Find My Device network to include offline devices and third-party trackers hasn’t happened yet – even though it was announced at Google IO 2023 last May.
You can already use the Find My Device network to track down Android and Wear OS devices, provided they’re powered on and connected to the internet. The planned upgrade will apparently add support for offline devices and third-party trackers, and will be able to warn you if someone is using a tracker to stalk your location without your knowledge.
According to Android Police, Apple is the reason for the delay: Google is apparently waiting for Apple to get around to finalizing its specification for tracking lost devices across platforms, no matter what software they’re running.
Hopefully, we’ll hear more about all of this on May 14, though it may be several months before anyone can actually make use of it. If Google sticks to its 2023 schedule, we should see Android 15 and the Google Pixel 9 phones sometime in October.
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