Android 9 Pie is around for a while now and already a handful of devices have received the update. As with every Android iteration, Google has added a slew of new features starting with gesture navigation to various Artificial Intelligence feature. In fact, Google has baked in AI to Android 9 Pie and several features such as Automatic Brightness, Battery work on AI now. Android 9 Pie is currently available on Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Essential PH-1, OnePlus 6, OnePlus 6T, Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 6.1. Except for the OnePlus 6 and 6T, all the smartphones mentioned above boot stock Android out of the box which made it easy for manufacturers to roll out the update this quickly. Read on to know more about the features introduced by Google with Android 9 Pie.
It is worth noting that Google won’t avail all the features of Android 9 Pie to the users right away. To experience this OS in its full glory, users might have to wait until November, since that is when Google will release the rest of the features for the public. So, without further ado, let’s dive in and see what the most exciting features in Android 9 Pie are.
Digital Wellbeing for Balanced Smartphone Use
Google has now shipped this functionality before in the beta version of Android 9 Pie. Using the Digital Wellbeing dashboard, you will be able to track how much time you are spending on your phone, control notifications and sounds along with the visual interruptions as well. The Digital Wellbeing feature will help you in keeping a check on your smartphone usage.
Adaptive Battery for Optimised Battery Usage
Android 9 Pie will smartly predict your app usage based on your app history. This will help your phone in better managing the battery life and optimising it for elongated use. This way the battery will be saved for the most used applications.
Adaptive Brightness
By learning your patterns over time about how you set brightness levels in different settings, Android Pie will start adjusting the brightness levels according to your liking whenever you walk into a dark room or under the sunlight.
App Actions
Google has explained that by learning app usage over time, it will be able to predict your next step. For example, when you plug in your earphones, Android Pie will bring up the last playlist which you were listening. This way you will be able to do your tasks quickly on your phone.
Slices
Slices are going to be another smart feature in Android 9 Pie, wherein you will be able to see snippets of your favourite applications on top of other apps. One example of this would be searching for Uber in Google, where it displays a small preview of the price and time for a trip below the Google search.
Gesture Navigation
This new navigation method can be ultimately said to be the highlight of the Android 9 Pie. Users will be able to use intuitive gestures instead of the traditional arrow and home key combination to navigate through the Android UI. We have a detailed guide on how to get started with gesture navigation on Android 9 Pie, head over here to know more.
Background Restrictions for Apps
Android 9 Pie will also offer additional Settings and controlling parameters allowing you to restrict applications in the background which eat up a lot on your battery. This feature will again help you elongate your battery life.
App Time Limits
Similar to digital wellbeing, this function will help you set timers for app usage, and when you near that time limit, the phone will warn you about the time that you have spent on a particular app. This feature will assist you in keeping track of your time.
Notifications Management
With Android 9 Pie, you will be better able to manage notifications along with the visual and audio cues. You will be able to turn off notifications from a range of applications and decide which notifications are essential for you.
Sound Delay Reporting
This feature will allow the users who are using a headset to make sure that the sound and video on the headset and screen, respectively, are in sync. Especially with the Bluetooth headsets, this feature is going to ensure a proper audio-visual experience on your Android device.
Display Cut-Outs
Android 9 Pie’s display cut-outs support means that when it runs on devices with higher screen real estate or devices with a notch, it will make sure that the apps acquire the entire screen.
