Android 11 is now official and is all about helping you manage your conversations, connected devices, privacy, and much more. The 11th version of Android is now available on select Google Pixel, OnePlus, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Realme smartphones, with more partners launching and upgrading devices over the coming months.
If one is using a Pixel 2 or above they will get additional features to organize and manage your phone, like app suggestions on the home screen based on the daily routines, and new overview actions that allow you to take a screenshot of an app and select text and images.
According to Dave Burke, VP, Android Engineering, at Google, “I often find myself switching between multiple messaging apps to stay connected with people I care about. In Android 11, conversations across messaging apps will be moved to a dedicated space in the notifications section, making it easy to manage your conversations in one spot. You can also prioritize conversations from the key people in your life so you never miss an important message.”
Furthermore, it has been revealed that Android 11 is people-centric and expressive as it helps developers build deeper conversational and personal interactions into your apps. It is worth noting that conversation notifications appear in a dedicated section at the top of the shade, with a people-forward design and conversation specific actions, such as opening the conversation as a bubble, creating a conversation shortcut on the home screen, or setting a reminder. Bubbles help users keep conversations in view and accessible while multitasking on their devices. Messaging and chat apps should use the Bubbles API on notifications to enable this in Android 11.
Besides this, the consolidated keyboard suggestions in Android 11 allow Autofill apps and Input Method Editors (IMEs) securely offer users context-specific entities and strings directly in an IME’s suggestion strip, where they are most convenient for users. It also offers built-in screen recording using which one can capture and share what’s happening on your phone and no extra app required.
Additionally, there are new ways to control the connected devices and media as one can now access all your smart devices in one place, simply by long-pressing the power button. “Control your connected devices like your thermostat or smart lock with a tap, so there’s no need to open multiple apps. Media controls have been redesigned and are more helpful than ever. You can now quickly switch the device your media is playing on, so you can take your music with you from your headphones to your speaker without missing a beat,” added Dave Burke.
Apart from the above-listed features, an official blog post has added that Android Auto now works wirelessly for all phones running Android 11 as long as you have a compatible vehicle. This means one can bring the best of the phone on every drive while skipping the cable—get directions with a tap, talk to send a text, play favorite media and get help from Google Assistant.
Android 11, also offers more control over your privacy and data. In a blog post, Google stated that one-time permissions will allow you to grant single-use access to your most sensitive permissions: microphone, camera, and location. The next time the app needs access to the sensors, it must ask you for your permission again. Moreover, if you haven’t used an app that you installed on your device in a while, you may not want it to keep accessing your data. Android will now “auto-reset” permissions for your unused apps and notify you accordingly. You can always decide to re-grant the app permissions the next time you use the app. With additional Google Play system update-modules, even more security and privacy fixes can be sent to your phone from Google Play, in the same way, your apps update. So the users will get these fixes as soon as they’re available, without having to wait for a full OS update.
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