The first beta of Android Q for early adopters and a preview SDK for developers is here. The Android Q Beta 1 is available for all Pixel smartphone owners including the original Pixel and Pixel XL. Google says that it has extended support for Android Q to Pixel and Pixel XL on popular demand. Google has revealed some of the key features that the early Android Q beta 1 adopters will get. The company has promised to share more details about Android Q during Google I/O in May this year.
With the Android Q, looks like Google is taking privacy very seriously. Google wants to build on "top of privacy protections in Android" users. The Android Q comes with several nifty features like -- more control over location, more privacy protections, ways to engage users, support for foldable smartphones and innovative new screens, sharing shortcuts, changed settings panels, connectivity, Wi-Fi performance mode, improved peer-to-peer and internet connectivity, among others. Let's talk in details about the features Android Q brings.
Here Are the 10 New Android Q Features
1. With Android Q, Google says that it has made more and more enhancements to protect users from privacy concerns. "Many of these enhancements are part of our work in Project Strobe," Google notes.
2. Google is also giving more control to the users with Android Q. Google says Android Q will help users have more control over when apps can get the location or not. Google further says that "Android Q also enables users to give apps permission whether to see their location or not. , only when the app is in use (running), or all the time (when in the background)."
3. Android Q is also giving users more control over apps and allow them to have control access to shared files. Google is also limiting access to non-resettable device identifiers, including device IMEI, serial number, and others with Android Q.
4. In addition, Android Q will also prevent apps from launching an Activity while in the background.
5. Google is also bringing new ways to engage users. The search giant is enabling new ways to bring "users into your apps and streamlining the experience as they transition from other apps."
6. Now that smartphone companies are working on foldable phones Google is bringing changes to onResume and onPause to support multi-resume and also notify apps when it needs to focus. Google says, "we've also changed how the resizeableActivity manifest attribute works, to help you manage how your app is displayed on foldable and large screens."
7. With Android Q Google is making is easy and quick with Sharing Shortcuts, which basically lets users share content from one app to another app. The Sharing Shortcuts will work in a similar way as the App Shortcuts works.
8. Google is improving the connectivity department as well with Android Q or Android 10. Google has "extended what your apps can do with Android's connectivity stack and added new connectivity APIs."
9. Furthermore, Google introduces support for the open source video codec AV1. This will help allow media providers to stream high-quality video content to Android phones with less bandwidth. Android Q also supports audio encoding using Opus and HDR10+ for high dynamic range video on supported phones.
10. Google brings some camera improvements too. With Android Q, "apps will be able to request a Dynamic Depth image which consists of a JPEG, XMP metadata related to depth related elements, and a depth and confidence map embedded in the same file on devices that advertise support."
