Users Android are servants. Unlike users iOS, they rarely have the choice to install an update or not install it, because often manufacturers simply choose not to release them. Therefore, at best, what can await them is a couple of annual updates. Most people are fine with this situation, and they are willing to put up with the lack of monthly security patches. In the end, what is the use of them if they do not contain any innovations, but only fix vulnerabilities that were not visible anyway. In this sense Android 11 is also a bit of a security update. At least for some smartphone owners.
Not all smartphones will receive all the innovations announced in Android 11
At least three features Android 11 will not be required as part of the installation image. That is, Google will leave their implementation at the discretion of the manufacturers themselves. It is logical that in this case some of them will decide not to adapt them for their smartphones, which in turn will negatively affect the convenience and functionality of the operating system. So far, we cannot say for sure which brands will refuse to implement the functions described below, but there is no doubt that they will definitely be.
Hot swapping Google Pay cards
In Android 11, a kind of quick access screen appeared, which is called up by double-clicking on the power button. It features smart home controls, emergency calls and, importantly, a list of payment tools for Google Pay, thanks to which you can select a new bank card in a couple of clicks just before paying. This is undeniably a very crowded front-end component, but no less important.
Hot swapping of cards in Google Pay, it turns out, is not necessary for everyone
However, Google decided that this screen should be an optional innovation and allowed manufacturers not to implement it in their firmware. On the one hand, there is logic in this. For example, Samsung users are unlikely to need hot access to Google Pay, because they already have Samsung Pay with the initially provided option to select bank cards before paying. But would this not be a reason to neglect the innovation for everyone else?
Notifications in Android 11
Notifications in Android 11 have received a landmark upgrade. Google developers, in addition to implementing a mechanism for grouping incoming notifications in the OS and raising notifications from instant messengers, gave users the ability to respond to them right in the notification shade. This feature was called 'dialogs' and was aimed at prioritizing live user notifications over app notifications, which are often of no use.
The updated innovations will also become one of the optional functions. It's a pity
Despite the obvious convenience and consistency of this innovation, Google has decided that it will not be included in the number of mandatory functions Android 11. Therefore, the guaranteed improved notifications can only be seen in Google's own smartphones. But all other manufacturers will decide on the need to optimize this mechanism on their own, obviously, starting from the peculiarities of the functioning of proprietary firmware.
Digitization of documents in Android
Perhaps the most underrated feature Android 11 is the document digitization tool. In fact, its appearance was expected a year ago, in Android 10, but then Google had some problems with the legality of this function, and it decided to postpone its implementation until a later date. By the launch of Android 11, the search giant managed to settle all legal aspects and still obtain permission from the authorities to digitize documents. The only pity is that in the end, not everyone will be able to take advantage of this opportunity.
Digitization of documents is a convenient function, but prohibited in many countries
Digitization has become the third function that Google has allowed not to be implemented in third-party firmware based on Android 11. Why is unknown. Perhaps it's all about the legal restrictions of some countries, or it is possible that Google simply left manufacturers the opportunity to release their own tools for storing digital copies of IDs. But, be that as it may, this is still a big loss, which will negatively affect the experience of using the updated OS.