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Android P made its official debut on August 7th with numerous upgrades that cannot be underestimated.
1. Unveiling 9 Powerful Features of Android P
Android P officially launched on August 7th with a plethora of upgrades that demand attention.
After about 2 months of anticipation, Google officially introduced Android P (Android Pie) on August 7th. Initially, Android P will only be available for Google's Pixel smartphones. Here are the 9 most notable changes and features of this operating system, making iOS competitors take notice.
A Completely Redesigned Interface With Android Pie, Google has redesigned the entire notification panel, rounding off the corners instead of the mundane square edges. Moreover, with a simple downward swipe, users can display detailed information within a notification from a particular app, and swiping right to dismiss the notification, similar to previous Android versions. The Settings section of Android P has also become more vibrant and lively.
Notification box redesigned with rounded corners.
The settings section has become much more vibrant. Additionally, users can now perform some actions directly within the notification panel without having to access the app directly. For example, messaging apps will provide smart reply suggestions and offer detailed information for users to choose from right within the notification panel.
Dark Mode Feature
Google has officially integrated a dark mode feature in the settings of Android P. Users can now choose between two different background modes, including light mode, dark mode, or let the smartphone decide based on the wallpaper the user is using.
Notch Support
After the introduction of the unique notch design with the iPhone X at the end of 2017, this design style quickly became a hugely popular trend and was adopted by many smartphone manufacturers. From Huawei P20, Asus ZenFone 5, to OnePlus 6 or Oppo F7, the notch has appeared everywhere and is an essential part of devices with ultra-thin bezels.
Android P will assist developers in optimizing their apps for the best display quality. When releasing the beta version back in June, Google somewhat revealed the support for notches of Android P in Developer Mode. By selecting the 'Simulate a display with a cutout' feature, programmers will have a more detailed view of the notch design to adjust the interface of their apps for the best display quality.
Handy Screen Capture Toolkit
With Android P, when you want to capture the screen, you just need to hold the power button for a moment until the menu bar appears, and select Screenshot. Of course, the traditional combo 'power button + volume down button' will still be retained.
Android P provides a convenient screen capture and photo editing toolkit. Additionally, Google also offers a completely new screen capture photo editing feature. After capturing, a preview notification will appear, allowing you to perform many actions such as cropping the image or adding patterns before sharing your product.
Dashboard - a feature to help users 'digital detox'
Similar to many other tech companies like Apple or Facebook, Google is actively helping users to monitor, control, and use smartphones in a more moderate manner. Therefore, the company has introduced the Dashboard feature in Android 9 to record detailed usage time of each specific app, thereby making the most reasonable adjustments. This feature belongs to Google's Wellbeing program, currently not widely implemented but Pixel users can start signing up immediately after updating to Android P.
Dashboard will help users track and control their smartphone usage time.
Enhanced Security with Lockdown Mode
Google is also making great efforts to improve the protection of users' personal information in Android P. While most of their new features are still in development, the new Lockdown mode is a simple yet highly secure solution. When this mode is activated, all other security features such as fingerprint, voice recognition will be disabled, and users will have to enter a new PIN code to unlock the device.
Lockdown mode will require users to enter a new PIN to unlock the device. To use Lockdown, simply access Settings > Security and Location > Lock Screen Preferences > Show lockdown. Then, whenever you hold the power button, the option to Lockdown will immediately appear.
Brand-New Gesture Controls
When upgrading to Android P, users no longer need to rely on the traditional 3 navigation buttons but can use a range of entirely new gesture controls, similar to the iPhone X. These new gestures will help you forget about the 3 traditional navigation buttons. Android P will provide a small virtual Home button on the touchscreen. When touched, users will return to the home screen, swipe right to go back, swipe left to switch apps, or swipe up to display a list of recently used apps.
Flexible Screen Rotation
Instead of locking the screen in one of the 2 display modes, portrait or landscape, Android P provides a dedicated virtual button for users to perform this task freely. For example, when you place the device horizontally and press this button, the screen will also rotate horizontally. Then, no matter how you position the device, the screen will remain in this display mode. If you want to rotate the image vertically again, simply press the virtual button once more.
This 'small but mighty' button will help you rotate the screen flexibly.
Show Battery Status on Ambient Screen
Ambient Display has appeared on many Android smartphones nowadays. Ambient Display (turning on the screen when there's a new notification) is a feature that has appeared on many smartphones from Samsung, Motorola, LG, or OnePlus. With Android P, battery status information will now be displayed at the bottom of the Ambient screen. Although a very small change, this feature will still bring convenience to users, as they can monitor the device's battery without unlocking.
As per CNET
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