The forced delay in beta Android 11, which Google postponed for a whole month, quite frankly, went almost unnoticed. Immediately after its launch, manufacturers one after another rushed to announce plans to join the program, Google itself undertook to launch new mechanisms to improve the experience of using applications and games, and testers, as befits them, began to spread information about the changes that had occurred. But if we already knew about the most significant innovations, then small, but no less valuable, somehow passed us by.
Android 11 worth installing just because of these features
Voice control to Android
Even though Android has long had the Google Assistant built in, it was always too smart to manage the OS and apps. That is, you could ask him to launch a camera or settings without the ability to interact with their interface elements. But if ordinary users did not care about this, in general, then users with musculoskeletal disorders clearly lacked this opportunity. Fortunately, Google has finally figured it out.
One thing I left out of my Android 11 beta hands on was the improved Voice Access, which now understand screen context and content. That was a mistake – it's actually incredible.
You don't have to use a grid or button numbers, you can just say what's on the screen. Watch: pic.twitter.com/wXidxZGVjt
– Dieter Bohn (@backlon) June 10, 2020
Android 11 introduces Voice Access with enhanced functionality, which is part of Universal Access and allows you to control your smartphone with only your voice, without touching it. Google has managed to implement voice control in such a way that everything happens absolutely seamlessly. Voice Access recognizes the elements of the interface on the screen and allows you to interact with them by speaking their names, thereby reducing the time for executing commands.
Notification history at Android
I don't know about you, but I constantly have this problem when I accidentally close a notification, and then I look for a long time where it came from and what was in it. But if I don't care about app notifications, then missing a message in the messenger (and I have several) is extremely unpleasant. After all, these may be work notifications, which, as you understand, are highly undesirable to skip. But in Android 11 this issue will be solved thanks to the history of incoming notifications.
Notification history will keep you from missing incoming messages even if you close them
Google decided to add a special section to the system, where all incoming notifications will be saved, regardless of where they came from. As a result, you can simply open this section and see everything that you missed or accidentally closed. There you can even read deleted messages, so you can see what you wanted to write, but then changed your mind and erased the message. In general, horror as convenient, and just for the sake of history, I would be updated.
Switch music to Android
Up to a certain point in Android the system of interaction with external accessories was completely disgusting. That is, if you listened to music through headphones, and then wanted to redirect it to a connected speaker, then you just couldn't do it. Before that, it was necessary to break the connection with the headphones or completely disconnect them, and only then switch the playback. In Android 11, this has become easier.
In Android 11 it will be possible to conveniently switch playback between external devices
Now a special window will appear in the OS, which can be called up from the desktop by swiping from the bottom up, all connected devices and a playback control widget will be available. There you can immediately select the device to which the audio signal will be broadcast, as well as configure the playback as you like. This is very convenient, given that today many users keep several electronic devices connected at the same time.
Smart home on Android
Despite the fact that users Android had access to the Google Home application for controlling their smart home, in Android 11 Google developers decided to slightly change the approach to interacting with it. To do this, they moved all the controls to a separate menu, which is called by double-clicking the power button. By the way, this is the same menu where Google has already dumped the hot swap of cards in Google Pay.
In Android 11 a separate menu will appear for controlling the smart home
Why the company did this is unclear. But, nevertheless, the ability to quickly turn on and off the necessary devices, adjust the lighting, view the recording from CCTV cameras and do much more. True, it is not yet known whether Google will abandon the Google Home application in favor of the system menu or allow them to coexist together, which is actually not very logical. But, knowing how much Google likes to duplicate its services, this is quite possible.
Recover deleted files to Android
In Android it has always been quite difficult to work with multimedia files. It just so happened that if you deleted a file, then it was deleted forever, unless it was previously saved to the cloud. This caused users a lot of inconvenience, given that many have never contacted the clouds at all, preferring to keep everything with them. In Android 11 it will be a little easier for them.
In Android 11 there will be a recycle bin where deleted files will go. But only for 7 days
Google decided to implement a trash bin for Android, where all deleted files will go. They will be stored there for 7 days to allow the user to restore them. If no one has asked for recovery, files from the recycle bin will be systematically deleted automatically, but this time forever. This is an extremely simple yet convenient solution that I personally have been missing all these years.