Google kicked off its biggest event of the year – Google I/O – on Tuesday, where the company showed off some of the new features and improvements we can expect in the forthcoming Android P operating system.
This is Officially developer preview and available on some actual devices has new UI, features and much more.
New gesture based navigation system is the focus that bears some resemblance to the gesture that Apple first implemented on the iPhone X.
There are a bunch of new features to show you, so check out what’s coming in Android P:
Table of Contents
One of the biggest change is the removal of Android’s traditional navigation buttons.
Gesture based navigation system is the new way to navigate your devices using gestures.
Home indicator button on the bottom of the screen is present to navigate you to home screen and to go back you will be using dedicated back button.
Another major update is multitasking menu with large card with easily glance-able information and one more swipe opens drawer and swipe on the home indictor switches between apps.
If you want to enable it, just go to Settings > System > Gesture > Swipe up on home button.
Android Intelligence
Android Intelligence will allow you to use new features that will help your device in many ways.
Adaptive Battery
The Android system can adapt to your unique usage pattern using machine learning that is the device will be able to understand which app you are not going to use in the day or in the week and which app you are going to use in future and this information is totally private because its on-device machine learning. In this ways CPU wake-ups reduced by 30% and able to run more processes on the power efficient small CPU core this will increases battery life.
New Auto Brightness
Mostly screen brightness changes with respect to surroundings, but different users have different preferences, so this “Adaptive brightness” will make you to adjust brightness manually until phone learn your brightness preferences.
Actions
Recent year, Android launched predictive apps, which showed top five app that you are going to use at the top of the app launcher. With Android P, app re being predicted based on usage pattern this is App Actions.
For Example, if headphones are connected you get a prompt to automatically start playing music, and it will suggest playlist according to your location.
Slices
A new Slice API is for developers to give directs access key app features directly from the OS or from search.
MLKit
New set of on-device API’s that is cross-platform and will work with both Android and iOS and gives you ready to use models like facial recognition, barcode scanning and so on.
Digital Wellbeing
We know how much we are using our smart devices, but we don’t know how much time we should give to our devices so Google figured it out and introduced new feature called Digital Wellbeing which will help to manage digital on-device time.
You will get dashboard which will tell you your digital wellbeing and Android P will be able to use how many times you have woken up your phones every day, and how many notifications you have received.
Shush is another feature which will break the constant flow of notification. This feature will automatically trigger when you turn you phone with the screen facing down by this it will enter Do Not Disturb mode.
Simplicity
First, without dealing with complicated sound controls it is now easier to adjust volume, just press volume down or volume up button to simply adjust the volume by default.
Secondly, the screen rotation- if you rotate your screen in Android P it will automatically show buttons so you can press them to adjust screen automatically.
In these ways user experience is simplified
How to install Android P Beta right now
Well there is still time until it rolls out on devices but you can’t wait, Google has made easy for you to install it.
It’s now available for the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, as well as seven other OEM devices from OnePlus, Nokia, and more.
But there is one thing I want to make clear if you install Android P beta on non-Pixel phone you won’t get the pixel UI- each OEM has built the Android P beta with their own manufacturer skins in mind that mean Android P on the Xperia XZ2 will have Sony’s interface.
You can also enrol in the Android Beta program by just clicking here. You will also get system images.
Enroll in the Android Beta Program
Overall, Android P with all these feature is pretty attractive and glad to see that Google has taking phone using addiction seriously.
