The first Android 11 Developer Preview is here!
Google is now offering the Android 11 Developer Preview to the Pixel 2, 3, 3a, and 4 devices. If you've got one of these phones, you can manually download and flash the first Android 11 preview right now.
One thing to keep in mind is that this release is meant for developers, and so you'll likely encounter bugs and less-than-optimized performance. That's especially true of this first developer preview. So you may want to think twice before loading it onto your daily driver.
As you might expect from a major release of Android, there are lots of new features packed into Android 11. Google says that it's improving 5G support in the new update by enhancing and updating existing connectivity APIs so you can better take advantage of 5G's faster speeds. For example, a dynamic meteredness API will check to see if your connection is unmetered and offer up higher resolution that may use more data.
Android 11 also improves support for newer screen types that we're seeing on devices lately, like hole-punch and waterfall displays. A new API will let an Android app use the entire waterfall screen including the edges with insets to help you manage interactions near the edges.
New communication features include a dedicated conversations section in the notification shade so you can more quickly find your ongoing chats. There's Bubbles support to help you keep conversations going while you're performing other tasks, and developers can now enable their apps to to paste assets directly into a reply in the notification shade.
Google is beefing up privacy with Android 11, too, like by adding a one-time permission option. With it, you can allow an app to only get access to your location, camera, or whatever else just one time.
Call screening apps will get better with the update to Android 11, with apps now able to get an incoming call's STIR/SHAKEN status so you know if it's a legitimate call or robocall. Plus, apps can customize a system-provided post-call screen that'll let you do things like marking a call as spam or adding a number to your contacts.
Another new feature of Android 11 should make it easier to snap photos and videos. That's because new APIs will mute vibration from ringtones, alarms, and notifications while the camera is running so that you can ensure you're getting a steady shot.
There are lots of other, more technical improvements coming to Android 11, too. You can read more about those right here.
Google isn't yet saying when Android 11 will launch to the public, but it does plan to invite consumers to try the update through an Android Beta open enrollment soon.
