After months of beta testing, the final release of Android 11 is officially out. This latest version of Google’s operating system is equipped with many interesting features for users. Here are the features you should be interested in.
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When will the phone get the Android 11 update?
Google has started pushing Android 11 for Pixel smartphones. All Pixel devices starting with Pixel 2 can download the update over-the-air now. Go Settings > System > Advanced > System Update and press “Check for updates” to start the upgrade process.
In addition to the stable release for Pixel phones, select devices from ASUS, OnePlus, Xiaomi, OPPO, Realme, and Samsung can try out Android 11 Beta. The list includes:
- Google Pixel 2
- Google Pixel 2 XL
- Google Pixel 3
- Google Pixel 3 XL
- Google Pixel 3A
- Google Pixel 4
- Google Pixel 4 XL
- Google Pixel 4A
- OnePlus 8
- OnePlus 8 Pro (NA, EU, India)
- Xiaomi Mi 10
- Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
- OPPO Find X2
- OPPO Find X2 Pro
- Realme X50 Pro
The stable release of Android 11 will likely come to newer high-end phones from Samsung and OnePlus first. You can expect the rollout of Android 11 to take up to a year or so, depending on the manufacturer.
New dedicated space for texting notifications
Texting is one of the most common things people do with their smartphones, and Android 11 makes it easier to keep track of these apps. Notifications from messaging apps can appear in a new āConversationsā section in the notification drawer.
Android tries to determine which apps should be included in the āConversationsā section, but it isn’t perfect. At the time of writing, only a handful of apps, including Google’s Messages app and Facebook Messenger, appear in this section.
There’s also no way to manually add apps to the “Conversations” section, but you can remove them.
Texting with chat bubbles
Back in 2013, Facebook Messenger introduced a feature called āChat Headsā. The message will appear as floating bubbles on the edges of the screen. These bubbles are expandable and allow you to view and reply to a conversation on anything on your screen.
Android 11 brings this same functionality to the system level. Any app can now enable chat like āBubblesā. You can turn a conversation into a āBubbleā from individual app notifications, which will help it stay on top of other elements on the screen.
Not all messaging apps will have this feature, but it’s now easier for third-party developers to support it.
Improved music player
Android 11 will have improved media controls, now located in the Quick Settings menu instead of the notifications section.
Swiping down once reveals compact media controls, and swiping down again expands the interface. If you have multiple apps playing media, whether it’s music or streaming video, you can swipe between the media controls.
With supported apps, you can also quickly change where media is playing. Tap the icon Google Cast or the location where the audio is playing shows a list of devices that you switch to playback. You can easily change the player without opening the app.
One of the most important changes in Android 11 can be found in the Power menu. This is a place where you wouldn’t normally spend a lot of time, but now Android is doing well.
Pressing and holding the power button will open a new Power menu. Here you can now add shortcuts and quick switches to control smart devices in your home from any app on your phone that supports this feature.
For example, the Google Home app currently supports this feature. Any smart home devices you’ve added to Google Home can be included in the power menu. Shortcuts greatly reduce the time it takes to turn smart devices on or off and view Nest security cameras.
The Power menu now also shows the credit and debit cards you’ve added to Google Pay. It’s not clear whether this menu must be open to use NFC payments or if you still just need to unlock the device.
Screen recording feature
Recording your screen is something that has long required third-party apps. Finally, in Android 11, there is a built-in screen recorder.
Screen Recorder can be launched from the Quick Settings menu. You can choose to record audio and touch the screen along with the video. If you’re recording, you can even choose to record from your microphone, device audio, or both.
Screen recording can be very useful to show someone how to do something or record a bug that you want to report. It’s a small thing, but handy when you need it.
Limit app permissions
Privacy is a big deal, and Google is always adding tools to help protect your personal data. Android 11 added some important permissions options, and now Android 11 is building on that.
Outside āOnly allowed when using the appā of Android 11 to access location information, you can now allow permission āOnly this timeā. The new setting means you can only allow apps to access your location, camera, or microphone once. Next time it wants to use those sensors, it will ask again.
The next new permission option will protect you from apps you haven’t used in a while. Android 11 will automatically reset the permissions granted to apps that you haven’t used recently. This will prevent apps from abusing permissions once you stop using them.
Android 11 Easter Eggs
Android 11’s Easter Egg is a throwback to Android 7.0 Nougat. You can access the Easter Egg by going to Settings>About phone>Android versionthen briefly tap āAndroid versionā until the image below appears.
The first part of Easter eggs is the volume dial stops at 10. If you make the dial from 1 to 10 three times, on the third attempt it will go over 10 and reveal the ā11ā logo.
The second part of Easter eggs This is where Android Nougat comes into play. Nougat includes an elaborate cat-collecting game called Easter Eggs. When you dial the number to 11, you’ll see a toast message with a cat emoji at the bottom of the screen. This begins your cat collecting journey.
The next step in the game is to attract cats. This happens in Android 11’s redesigned power menu.
Press and hold your phone’s power button, then tap the three dots above the smart home control. From the pop-up menu, choose āAdd controlā. Here, tap the āView more appsā option near the bottom of the page. You can now add āCat Controlsā, which will add shortcuts for water, feeding, and playing with cats.
Tap the shortcuts to refill bubbles and food bowls and play with toys. After a while, a cat will appear in the notification, and you can tap it to add it to your collection. It’s a fun little game to play when you’re bored.
