Android P Developer Preview 1 is out! what to expect from the new Android?

When everyone was waiting for Google to release the new Android P Developer Preview 1 in 14th of March, considering it’s Pi day. Google surprised everybody as usual and Android P was out on 7th of March. The tech giant announced the release of the first developer Preview last week. The new version is available only on Google Pixel, Google Pixel XL, Google Pixel 2, and Google Pixel 2 XL, sadly it’s not available for Google Nexus phones, Google Pixel C, or any other android phone.

 Surprisingly, Android P has a lot of changes, and it will have more and more changes when developers give their feedback to Google. In this article, we will check out all the new features in the new OS, and maybe we will try to guess what will Google name the new software. Let’s start diving in the new Android 9.0.

Location setting is simpler

Location settings have been simplified in Android P, now you can choose between three options, High Accuracy, battery saving, or device only with a simple on/off switch.

Smart Battery Manager

One of the new useful features in Android P is the smart battery manager, however, you can turn it on or off, the new battery manager is supposed to work on its own. What it does is adjust the power usage for the apps based on usage. The new battery manager may get more options in Android P DP2 or later based on the feedback from developers.

Recently sent “notification list”

You get a lot of notification every day, and sometimes it’s really hard to keep track of the apps, and the notification sent by it. In previous Android versions, the OS used to keep a copy of sent notifications in the hidden log menu. And some apps used to be able to pull back these notifications. But now Android adds a new option in setting, so you can view sent notification and control them.

Text zoom tool  

If you ever used an iPhone or at least saw your friend using one. You probably noticed the text zoom tool, which is a really useful tool to adjust text and to look closer in case you had any mistakes. This simple tool was missing in older Android versions, but now finally it has been added to the new Android P.

Simplified Do not disturb mood

With Android P, do not disturb mood is way simpler and has a lot of options. Now you can customize the options, instead of only choosing from 3 different options. You can customize everything in a “Behavior” menu under “Do not disturb”. For example, besides choosing if you want to receive calls and alarms, you can choose to receive repeated calls or other options.

Transition between apps is much easier

Finally, Android introduces a swiping between apps features, now the transition between apps is easier with a vertically swiping transition when opening and returning to apps.

Pattern unlock now hides its trail

To increase the safety and security, the swipe unlock method now hides its trail instead of leaving it until the full pattern is entered.

New colorful setting app

Google already made some big changes in the setting app in Android Oreo. But in Android P, we can see that Google spent some time redesigning the app somehow.

The first thing you notice when you enter the new setting app is the colors, new colorful icons are introduced in android P. when you open any section in the setting app, you can notice that a lot of options have been rearranged, or even you can see many new options in each section. We will discuss the new setting app in a separate article later on.

New features in the notification bar

Notification bar also got redesigned by Google, with some new features that make it more functional. First, quick setting icons have been redesigned to be rounded. And notifications now can display conversations, photos, stickers, and of course, after the launch of Google reply app, we were expecting smart replies from Android P which is also there. Also, it’s noticeable that the time moved from the right to the left side in the notification bar.

Different sound toolbar

After introducing the power menu next to the physical power button in Android Oreo. now the sound toolbar will be next to the physical volume buttons as well, at least in Google Pixel. The new toolbar would have a slider in the middle, above the slider we have a menu to change media output, while under it there is a button to switch between Ring, Mute, and Vibrate only mood.

Screenshot button and a built-in editor

Similar to the new sound toolbar, there is a new virtual screenshot button, you can access the new button by holding down on the power/lock button to get “Shutdown”, “Restart”, and after that a screenshot button.

Android P also introduced “Markup”, which is a new screenshot editor. After taking a screenshot you can edit it, add text, and draw thanks to the new built-in editor.

Wi-Fi-based indoor positioning

Wi-Fi Round-Trip-Time (RTT) support lets apps take advantage of indoor positioning. The IEEE 802.11mc Wi-Fi protocol allows devices to measure the distance between nearby wireless Access Points (AP). This allows for in-building navigation and some other new features.

Notch support

After introducing the notch with the first Essential phone last year, many companies followed with this new display technique, and after launching the new iPhone X with a notch, the notch got a new push. Therefore, Android P will allow apps to use this unique display and it will separate the content on the top from the cut-out.

Multi-camera API

In the last two years, we started to see more and more phones with two cameras or even more. Android now helps you to manage those multiple cameras and control them.

The new API will automatically switch between the different lenses. This new feature will help to get better zooming, and to reduce the delay time during the captures.

Download Android P

If you own a Google Pixel, and you are interested in trying the new DP1 from Android P, you can download the new OS from Google website with a full tutorial on how to set it up. you can also try Android P on any Android emulator like Blustacks or any other emulator.

Here’s a video on what’s new in Android P made by the developing team:

 

With this, we tried to cover most of the new features in the new Android 9.0. But we still have one mission, one of the questions right now, and just like every year, what will be the name of the new Android?

Google names every Android version with a sweet treat name since 2009 with Android 1.5 (Cupcake), to the last Android 8.0/8.1 (Oreo).

 

There is a lot of suggestion for the new Android P. here is a list of some tasty treats that Google might call Android P by one of them:

• Pancakes
• Pistachio Ice Cream
• Pumpkin Pie or Pie
• Pudding
• Peanut Brittle
• Papaya
• Pound cake
• Payday candy bar
• Poptart

Of course, there are a lot of other names but those are the most likely names for Google to use. However, Google always surprises us with its names.

My guess is Android Pancakes, it’s simple and suits Android. What will be your guess?

 

Read also: Google launches Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL with Android 8.0