Android 11 Developer Preview Now Available; What’s New?

A few days ago, Google accidentally put the official developer preview site of Android 11. After perhaps realizing the mistake, the team pulled the site. But, today, the search engine giant finally releases the Android 11 Developer Preview, and here are what to look forward to the upcoming mobile OS.

Android 11 Connectivity

Google enhanced the bandwidth estimator API for the 5G connectivity for users to quickly check the upstream and downstream of bandwidth. If the device does not offer support, the API sets a default estimation based on the connection the user is currently using. The Android 11 API now has dynamic meteredness that allows the user to check if the connection is unmetered.

If the connection is unmetered, the API will provide higher quality or resolution that could consume more data. Additionally, it now comes with cellular networks so users could easily identify which carrier is genuinely providing unmetered data while linked to the 5G network of the carrier.

Permission

Android 11 now offers one-time permission to users. This is applicable not only in location but also for the camera and microphone of the device. With the Android 11 running under the hood, users can now allow temporary access via one-time permission. This permission could mean that apps could access the data until the time the user stops using or closes the app. For the next access, the app must request once again for access.

Security

Android 11 offers safer location access, particularly through its update Google Play policy. This is very handy as it ensures that apps only asks for location permissions whenever it is genuinely needed. Android 11 also expands Biometrics to meet the demands of a lot of devices.

Moreover, Android 11 now allows Biometricprompt to support three types of authenticator with various levels of granularity. These are strong, weak, and device credentials. It is now also decoupled in the Activity lifecycle of the apps so it could easily integrate with different app architectures. Also, this helps improve the app’s transaction UI.

Other New Features

Android 11 also reintroduces screen recording and is now accessible in the Quick Settings file. Dark Theme can now automatically switch on or off based on the time of the day or through customized interval that the user prefers.