Google Launches Android 11
- Paul Thurrott
- Sep 08, 2020
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Google today announced the immediate availability of Android 11, the latest version of the most popular mobile computing platform.
“The latest release is all about helping you get to what’s important on your phone with easier ways to help you manage your conversations, connected devices, privacy, and much more,” Google vice president Dave Burke writes in the announcement post. “Android 11 will begin rolling out today on select Pixel, OnePlus, Xiaomi, OPPO[,] and realme phones, with more partners launching and upgrading devices over the coming months.”
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Key new features in Android 11 include a new dedicated space for messaging apps in the notification pane; Bubbles, which present messaging app notifications visually so you don’t need to exit the app you’re already using; built-in screen recording; new pop-up interfaces for smart devices and media controls; wireless access to Android Auto; one-time and auto-reset permissions; and more.
For users on Pixel, Android 11 provides additional features, including Live View with Location Sharing in Google Maps, Smart Reply in Gboard (English only for now), app suggestions on the home screen, the ability to select text or images in screenshots, and more.
And for developers, Google is publishing the source to the new version of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) in addition to Android 11 itself.
“Android 11 has a ton of new capabilities [for developers],” Google director Stephanie Cuthbertson notes. “You’ll want to check out conversation notifications, device and media controls, one-time permissions, enhanced 5G support, IME transitions, and so much more. To help you work and develop faster, we also added new tools like compatibility toggles, ADB incremental installs, app exit reasons API, data access auditing API, Kotlin nullability annotations, and many others.”