After months of rigorous testing and bug fixing, Google has officially released the next iteration of Android, simply called the Android 11 without any tasty “dessert names”. Unlike any previous version of Android, this time around there isn’t much design overhaul of the operating system but packs optimisation and refinement of functionalities all-around.
Android 11 is being rolled out to most of the Pixel devices including Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, and Pixel 4a. The new OS is also being rolled out to select OnePlus (OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro), Xiaomi (Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro), OPPO (Oppo Find X2 and Oppo Reno 3) and realme (Realme X50 Pro) phones.
Others mobile manufacturers would also be launching and upgrading their devices to Android 11 over the coming months.
Here’s What’s New with Android 11
Conversations: with Android 11, all your messages and conversations are moved to a dedicated space. Thus making it easy to respond and control your conversations across multiple messaging apps from a single spot. You can also priorities conversations that you don’t want to miss and opt to mute those conversations that get you distracted.
Bubbles: This might be familiar, as popularised by Facebook Messenger Chat Heads. Android 11 now natively supports these Chat Heads or bubbles, and they always appear on top of other apps and screens.
Content Capture: Android 11 now comes with a built-in screen recorder. Now capture and share what’s happening on your phone without the need for an extra app. You could also record sound from your mic, your device or both. On Pixel devices, you can easily copy, save and share info like text and images between many apps.
Productivity tools (Pixel exclusive): Smart reply feature gets enhancement and now on Pixel devices replies are intelligently suggested based on what’s been said in the conversation. The app suggestion on Pixel devices gets AI power, and it now suggests apps based on your routine.
Redesigned media controls: Android 11 gets a feature-rich media controls that allow you to quickly switch the device your media is playing on (audio source selection).
Updated power menu: the power menu in Android 11 get an additional functionality to manage your connected devices or smart home devices. You could dim your smart lights or set AC temperature through the dedicated section that you get from long pressing the power button.
One-time permissions: Android 11 now allow you to grant single-use permission for the mic, camera or location with one-time permissions option. Thus, next time you use the app, it must ask for permission again. Another addition is the permissions auto-reset option, that will rest permission for apps that you haven’t used in a while.
Google Play now serve security and privacy fixes directly to your Android device instead of your phone maker or carrier push those updates.