Every year, Google updates their Android operating system and develops their new Google Pixel handsets with it. This year, we are expecting the full launch of Android Q in October.
For some devices, such as the Pixel series, you will receive the update immediately. Some other devices will receive it a little later. Let’s take a look at all the top Android Q features you can expect to have access to when it arrives on your device.
And remember, like previous major Android OS updates, you can download the beta version of Android Q right now. I will explain about that later. Let’s take a look at the exciting new changes first.
Table of Contents
Better active edge control
This will only apply to Google Pixel owners, but it’s a very worthwhile change. Have you ever accidentally opened your assistant or put your phone on silent by squeezing it too hard? That’s because Active Edge is already set up on your phone to perform tasks when you squeeze the edges.
The problem is that, in the current live version of Android, it’s hard to get proper squeeze sensitivity. Many people, myself included, end up inadvertently activating this feature more often than not. With Android Q, a new animation plays when you squeeze to help you understand if you need to increase or decrease the sensitivity.
Android follows Apple’s lead by removing the Back and Home buttons
Android will try to push users to get rid of the back button in Android Q in favor of a new gesture-based control system. That’s a reasonable change when you think about it. With smartphones being all about screen-to-body ratio, there’s a large on-screen navigation bar at the bottom of that experience.
So in Android Q you can remove the gesture bar. You can swipe up to go home, swipe and hold to reveal multitasking, and swipe left to right to go back.
Dark Mode, Dark Mode Everywhere
Google has finally rolled out a system-wide dark mode to help ease the strain on your eyes. It is official. That means no more downloading third-party apps, adding dark mode settings to individual apps, and squinting whenever you have to engage with an unsupported app. darkness.
For starters, these changes will only be for the Android system and UI, but a new API is being introduced to make it easier for developers to create their own dark mode, so hopefully the Major apps will soon adopt it after Android Q’s release.
New Live Subtitles for Any Media
The new Live Captions feature in Android Q is the result of one of the many powers of AI and machine learning. Here is how it works. If you have any media on your phone, whether it’s in local storage or from online video, Live Caption adds real-time captions. It’s a bit like automatic subtitles on YouTube. So let’s hope the experience is correct most of the time, but there may be some inconsistencies here and there.
Either way, this is a very magical feature for the deaf and it can even be used in offline mode. All transcriptions are created and displayed locally without the help of the internet.
New UI accent color options
A small but noticeable change in Android Q allows you to change the accent color for all UI icons in Android. For example, when you turn off and on options like Wi-Fi in the notification panel.
The color options are limited, but there are quite a few to choose from, and Google can add more over time. For now, just being able to choose from the available colors is a refreshing way to add a bit of difference to your UI experience.
Change new app permissions
To give users more control over their apps, Google is introducing new system-wide app permission changes in Android Q. Essentially, you’ll have the ability to allow permissions. the app uses the permission only once when asked for it, instead of making it accessible forever. .
And you’ll have more control over giving apps permissions to certain files on your phone instead of giving them access to all of them. It’s a very nice privacy and security change that will make it harder for apps to get your location, details, or browsing history without your explicit permission first.
How to download Android Q Beta
While Android Q won’t launch until October 2019, if you own a Google Pixel device, you can download the Android Q Beta today. Please understand that this software is designed for developers and if you download it, you may encounter errors and problems. I recommend having a backup device in case things go awry.
To get the Android Q beta, follow the steps below on your phone.
- Visit developer.android.com/preview/get
- Clap Download Android Q Beta on Google Pixel Devices Over the Air
- Scroll down to your eligible devices and tap opt-in
- Your device will now be registered
- Wait a while and visit Settings > System > Advanced > System Updates
- Tap to install the update
Thats all to have it! The update is over 1GB in size so make sure your phone is plugged in to charge and that you have WiFi enabled.
Summary
That brings us to the end of our overview of the top Android Q features to look forward to. Of course there are many more features to explore, but this list highlights some of the best that we currently know of. Have any questions about Android Q or want to know more about Beta access? Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to help you as soon as I can.
