If you’ve been tempted by something on our best Android phones list and are looking to upgrade your current model, then you may want to do a trade-in to save some money – and it looks as though Google has plans to make that process easier.
As spotted by Android Authority, edits being made in the main Android codebase suggest technicians who are checking that a phone works will be able to put it into a special ‘evaluation mode’, and run tests from there.
For safety and security reasons, it’s recommended that Android phones are factory reset before they’re traded in. That means the person testing them has to go through the normal Android setup process to take a look at them – for every single phone.
This new mode, once it’s enabled, would bypass that and mean a phone could be evaluated in a quicker time – and that in turn would mean you’d get a faster decision on the trade-in value of your smartphone when you upgraded.
The Android Debug Bridge
These changes won’t actually show up for users at all – Android will still look exactly the same. What will change are the options available in the Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a comprehensive software tool used by developers and technicians.
Once connected to the ADB, that’s when the new ability to skip the setup process will come into play. This isn’t something you’re going to be able to test yourself, unless you go to the trouble of installing the debugging software on Windows or macOS.
We’re expecting the finished version of Android 15 to start making its way to Pixel phones including the Google Pixel 9 at some point this month, with Samsung Galaxy devices expected to be upgraded early next year.
Beyond that, we’ve already started hearing rumors about what Android 16 might bring with it. However, it’s not clear if this trade-in update for Android will be associated with a major release, or get pushed out separately.