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Google has stopped naming operating systems after desserts.
Android 10 is a testimony to Google's growth and maturity. Android 11 Developer Preview is now following the same principles.
The Android 11 developer preview, while still a few months from the final version of the OS, gives us a good innovative idea about the direction Google is taking the system.
Android app developers/application developer are not the only ones who are excited by every update.
App owners are also on edge every time around mid-May when Google I/O announces a new update.
Let's first look at the Android 11 advanced features.
What Would It Mean For Your Android App To Migrate From Android 10 To Android 11?
The Android Developer preview documentation is divided into three main categories: Behavioural Changes, New Features and APIs, and Privacy Features.
There are performance-related pointers in each category.
Let us examine the things you need to be aware of.
Users can control when the permission dialogue appearsAndroid 11 discourages repeated requests for the same permission.
When your users click 'Deny" twice, they are implying 'Don't Ask Again'. This means that you'll need to explain and convince your users why they are asking for permission, whether it is through your MVP or marketing.
The App Usage Statistics Will Remain Private
Android 11 will now store the app usage statistics of users in the credential-encrypted storage to better protect their data.
So, the app and any other system cannot access the data without certain coding. This is dependent on the following two conditions:
- The first time a user unlocks their device after the system startup
- The user can now access their account from the device.
You will have issues viewing app usage statistics until you find a solution.
Reduced Data Redundancy
The application may want to use a large dataset in situations where media playback is involved or when machine learning is required.
In earlier Android devices versions, you and another application had to download separate copies of the dataset.
Android 11 uses shared data blobs to cache large datasets on devices. This reduces the redundancy of data on the disk and network.
Clarity on App Process Exit Reasons
Android 11 introduces a new feature that will generate reports containing the reasons behind recent process terminations.
App owners won't be able to gather crash diagnostics data in detail, such as whether a process was terminated due to memory issues, ANRs, or other reasons. This is a major benefit of Android 11.
Expediting Incremental APK Installation
Even if the change is small, installing large APKs can take a while. Google, realizing the importance of app updates, has implemented Incremental APK Installation in Android 11.
Google has introduced Incremental APK installation in Android 11.
Support for Neural Networks Applications
Android 11 is going to make your Machine Learning or Neural Networks-based application more useful. Android's new Neural Networks API 1.3 will make it easier for your Machine Learning applications to run on mobile devices.
Now is the time to align your AI project management and create new use cases for this disruptive technology.
Infrastructure to Benefit from 5G
Mobile apps can benefit from 5G in many ways. Android 11 is now fully supporting the technology. Business model can benefit from faster streaming speeds, faster file transfers, and zero latency.
Android Extra Features You Need To Know
Conversation Notifications
Android 10's notification drawer displays all of your notifications in an unorganized list. There doesn't seem to be a reason why certain apps are prioritized.
While lower-priority notifications are moved to the silent section, which does not send any alerts, higher-priority notifications remain at the top of the list.
This system has changed in Android 11. Now, there are three categories of notifications: Silent, Alerting and Conversations.
In the Conversations section, you will find all of your conversations. Text messages, chat apps and other apps where you directly communicate with another person would be included. This would include direct messages sent within other apps such as Instagram.
Within this section, you can also give conversations and apps a higher priority. You could, for instance, give messages from Mom a higher ranking than messages from distant cousins.
It is important that you don't miss any notifications related to your daily interactions.
The Alerting and Silent sections behave as they did in Android 10 up until now. You can also silence notifications for certain apps.
This will push all future notifications into the Silent section. Android 11 gives you more control than ever before over notifications.
Notification History
You've done it, too: you receive a notification and swipe it off instinctively. You think, "Hey, I probably shouldn't have done this," but it's already too late.
The notification has disappeared.
Not so in Android 11! You can now save every notification you receive on your phone in the last 24 hours. You can look at the running list to find the notification that you swiped accidentally and see what was missed.
You can now find the notification that you swiped off when you woke up.
This new feature of notification history is not enabled by default. To enable the feature, you must go to Settings> Apps and Notifications> Notifications.
You can turn the feature on once you are there. In the same section, if it is already enabled, you can see your notification history. It's important to note that the basic feature will only start saving notifications once it's turned on.
So you won't be able to turn it on later and see notifications that you swiped off earlier in the day.
This Android 11 feature has an interesting side effect: it will display every notification you receive on your phone.
Even the silent ones, which never reach the shade. This development tool is great for identifying apps that are consuming system resources but rarely use them.
Android 11: Chat Bubbles
Do you sense a pattern? Google designed Android 11 with communication in mind. The biggest new features are all related to chat apps, notifications, and other systems that facilitate conversation.
The first time chat bubbles appeared was in Android 10. Google, for some reason, didn't give them the attention they deserved, and the chat bubbles faded to the background once the stable version was released.
Chat bubbles have taken center stage in Android 11.
Chat bubbles are familiar to Android users who have used Facebook Messenger. Messenger overlays a chat head on top of all other apps.
You can launch the chat by tapping the icon, then minimize it back to an icon. You're done with this conversation. Remove the chat head until the next conversation begins.
The system-wide bubble function works exactly the same way; the only difference is that it will work with any chat application, not just Messenger or apps that look similar.
Android 11 Screen Recorder
You can find a number of apps in the Google Play Store to record your phone screen. It's exciting to see a native Android 11 screen recorder.
This is one less app that you will need to download.
This new screen recording option is welcome, even though it's a little late.
Quick Settings has a screen recording function. The screen recording feature is accessed by tapping the Screen Record button.
You are then given a few options to choose from before you begin recording. You can, for example, choose whether your screen taps are recorded or not and whether audio is captured by the phone.
It is very simple but does the job. You can use your preferred third-party screen recording app if you want a full-featured recorder.
This native app will work for most users.
Media Controls
When you play music on an Android 10 device, a music icon appears in your notification drawer. The media player had to be moved because, in Android 11, the section reserved for conversations is now at the top of the notification drawer.
Google decided to move the media player up one rung to the Quick Settings section.
It makes more sense since the media control is not really a notification. Instead, it's an app or tool.
The media controller is small when you swipe down the notification drawer. The media controller will display the application, the cover art and basic controls, as well as the system on which the media is being played.
The alert will expand if you pull the drawer down again. It shows you the information in the above image.
You can quickly send audio or video to another system by tapping on the playback device (in the picture above, it's the "Phone Speaker").
It's easy to switch between your Bluetooth headphones and your phone speaker.
You don't want to see the player anymore? It's easy to swipe away. Android 11 allows you to change the settings to make the player disappear when you stop listening to music.
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Smart Device Controls
Smart home technology is becoming more popular. Google responded to this trend by adding a section to Android 11 which allows you to control your devices without opening an app.
Hold down the power button, and the tool will launch. You'll find all the power options at the top of the screen, but you'll also see more options below.
Google Pay is a shortcut that lets you quickly select the payment method for your next contactless transaction. You'll find a number of buttons that are connected to the various smart home devices.
Android 11 will automatically populate this field with your six devices. You can then add/remove them as you wish.
Tap the devices to check security cameras, turn on/off lights, and unlock your front door. You no longer need to open three different apps in order to accomplish all of these tasks!
Some OEMs have not adopted this feature. Samsung, for instance, has only the power button on this page, with no smart home controls.
Some companies have moved the controls to another section of the OS. Google has pretty much abandoned the feature in Android 12. So enjoy it while you can!
Read More: The Ultimate Guide to Accelerate Android App Development
Auto-Reset and One-Time Permissions
Google has been accused of negligence in the past regarding the privacy and security issues of its users. Android 11 gives users more control than ever over privacy and security.
One-time permissions are the star of this new initiative. Android 10 asks you to choose whether you want the app to have permissions permanently, just when you use it, or never.
Android 11 allows users to grant permissions for a specific session.
Android 11 offers a lot of privacy and security controls to users.
Android will revoke the permission if the user has granted it for a session. The option for users to grant permission each time they open the app is still available, but not all apps will have this option.
It will be much safer for the users, and it will make it more difficult for any sneaky apps that may want to collect information.
Android 11 will also "auto-reset" apps that you haven't opened in a long time. Android will now remove all permissions if you've granted location data to an app you haven't used in a while.
You'll have to approve these permissions the next time you open an app. Your data will be safe if you don't open the app.
Dark Theme Scheduling
Google's introduction of a native Android dark mode was a big deal. It was a simple option: either on or off. Other Android skins allow users to choose when and why the dark mode is activated.
Android 11 allows users to schedule the dark theme by using two metrics. You can set a dark theme so that it turns on or off at sunset or sunrise.
If you want, you can create a custom time schedule to activate the dark mode.
Google rolled out sunset/sunrise settings to Pixel phones running Android 10 in early 2020. Android 11 will make this feature available to everyone.
Android 11 Updates via Play Store
Google releases Android's latest version every year. Every month, Google releases the latest Android security patches.
These updates are sent to your device by either your provider or the equipment manufacturer. Some phones receive updates quickly, while others are updated much more slowly or never.
Android 11 counteracts this by giving more control over updates to the Google Play Store. Google can now bypass OEMs and carriers to push updates to all users.
It can't, of course, release the latest Android version or security patches in this way. It can, however, fix certain security flaws and update some specific features of Android using this method.
It is a universally good thing, as it keeps Android phones more secure and up to date even if OEMs have abandoned the device.
It would have been better if this didn't occur, but Google is at least doing its best to resolve the issue.
App suggestions for Android 11 Pixels Only
It's a shame that this feature only works with Pixel phones at the moment. Google may eventually make the feature available to other phones.
However, since the Pixel Launcher is required to function, it is unlikely to be made available to other OEMs.
Android can control which icons appear in your dock.
You can let Google's AI control which apps appear in your dock if you have a Pixel phone running Android 11. Android will be a key consideration for a variety of factors when deciding which apps should appear in your dock.
The apps are constantly changing, and the goal is to have the app that you'll be opening at your fingertips even before you realize you want it.
Google lets you skip specific apps. The feature can be turned off if it is not something you want. It's an interesting feature that will make life a little bit easier for people.
Share Sheet App-Pinning
Even one of Android's top leaders admitted at one time that Android's share system was a mess. It's improved a lot over the last year, and it is now more useful than ever.
Now you can pin apps on your share sheet to make it easier to access them when you need to share something. You can pin chrome's printing function to the share sheet or Chrome's ability to send URLs to devices.
You can control the apps that appear at the top of your list when you share a link. Android's old system of presenting applications in an order that it decides on is confusing and frustrates power users.
This is a welcomed change!
Wireless Android Auto
Android Auto is a great system, but you have to plug in your phone. Android Auto can be used wirelessly by some phones, namely Pixels.
However, not all Pixels are available.
Android 11 allows every smartphone to take advantage of the wireless Android Auto connection. Only the head unit of your car must support this additional feature.
This will be a big limitation for people who have older cars, but it will help to start the move towards Android Auto being completely wireless.
Conclusion
It takes a long time for companies to prepare their applications. The companies that take a long time to prepare their application for the next OS update are usually the ones that suffer the consequences of the fierce competition.
Our Android developers are already familiarizing themselves with the Android 11 Developer Preview document and have begun experimenting with our test applications.
We will have your Android 11 application ready for launch at the time it is released.
Contact cisin a app development company to convert your app idea to reality today to start your migration plans and benefit from the First Mover Advantage.
Get an estimate for your Android app development costs before you start.
