Bubbles
If you’re using Facebook Messenger, you surely know what bubbles are. They are those chat heads that appear once you start texting with someone. Android 11 follows the same concept but the idea is to unite all your messaging apps under an easy to use Bubbles UI. Just tap “send to bubble” on a conversation, and it will appear in a bubble. For now, Bubbles only works on Google’s own messaging app, but that shouldn’t be for long.
Conversations
There is a new ‘conversations’ section in your notification bar that will appear above all your app updates, Instagram likes, and emails. Since primarily we use our phones to communicate, after all, it only makes sense that you have easy access to your conversations, right?
Screen Recording
If you’ve been using the previous beta versions of android, you should already be familiar with this feature. What’s new this time is the UI which is all improved and fancy. In terms of functionality, screen recording does exactly what you would think – it records whatever is happening on your screen.
Improved App Permissions
Don’t you get annoyed sometimes by how apps constantly want your permission to access your data? Well, Android 11 doesn’t completely remove that, but at least now you have a third option to grant temporary permission to a certain app to use your data. It is a simple tweak, but one that keeps your data more secure.
Smaller Tweaks in Android 11
Some of the smaller changes Google has introduced include an increased touch sensitivity, automated dark mode toggles, a new Motion Sense gesture to play or pause music, and more. If you are a frequent traveler, you will be happy to know that turning on airplane mode will no longer disconnect your Bluetooth audio connections.
Remember, this developer beta version of Android 11 isn’t the final product we will be getting later in 2020. Expect to learn more about it in May during this year’s Google I/O.