Everything You Need to Know About Google Android P

Google I/O is that magical time of year where we get a first glimpse of new Google products. This year, Google is giving us a sneak peak at its latest smartphone OS, called Android P. And while we don’t know what the P stands for just yet, we do know all about the new features.

Here are all the new features in the new version, and you can read more in our Android P hands on.

NEW FEATURES

Inclusive Emojis

Along with some minor design changes and developer APIs, the second Android P beta introduces more than a hundred new emojis. Part of the unicode 11 update, Android P now features more inclusive emojis. You’ll find a number of genderless emojis, as well as emojis with multiple skin tones and hair colors (or no hair at all). If you want to see all the new emojis that will make their way to your phone in the near future, you can get a glimpse at Emojipedia.

Navigation Bar Changes

One of the biggest changes you’ll find in Android P is a change in the Navigation Bar. Android P now allows you to use the Home button to access recent apps. With the updated Home gesture, you’ll see your home button replaced with a small pill-shaped icon at the bottom of the screen. You can swipe up to access apps or see all open apps. It will also serve as a slider to help with navigation.

Adaptive Brightness

Adaptive Brightness uses A.I. to determine your preferred brightness settings. Once it understands your preferences, it can then make the necessary adjustments depending on your lighting conditions

ML Kit

While ML Kit is not Android-specific, it’s a new feature that makes Android P much more user-friendly. With ML Kit, app developers can use Google’s machine learning tasks within their own apps. ML Kit allows developers to use the camera for face detection, landmark recognition, text recognition, and a host of other recognition features.

Multi-camera support

Last year, Nokia introduced a new feature called Dual-Sight to some of its phones. With Dual-Sight, you can use both camera lenses on your phone simultaneously to capture images. It looks like Android P may make similar features widely available on most Android smartphones.

Android P allows developers to access streams on multiple phone cameras simultaneously. While we doubt you’ll see a native feature similar to Dual-Sight in Android P, it will be easy for developers to create third-party apps with the feature.

PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY UPDATES

Improved battery life

With each new Android update comes promised battery improvements. This year is no exception. From refining Doze to changing the way apps open on your phone, Google has made lots of changes in Android P to maximize your battery life.

In addition to under the hood changes, Android P also features an improved Battery Saver app. Android P makes it easier to enable Battery Saver as your battery begins to drain. Instead of the option to enable Battery Saver at 5 or 15 percent, the Android P update features a slider, allowing you to enable Battery Saver once your battery reaches 70 percent or below. And as an added bonus, the updated Battery Saver no longer features the obnoxious orange bar — it’s been replaced by a persistent notification icon.

You’ll also find Adaptive Battery in Android P. Adaptive Battery learns  how you use apps and will restrict battery use for apps you don’t use very frequently.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD THE BETA

If you want to try out the Android P beta, you’ll need to make sure you have a supported device. Currently, the Android P beta is limited to the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Essential Phone, Nokia 7 Plus, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, and Oppo R15 Pro.

Downloading Android P is simple: You just need to join the Android Beta Program and elect OTA (over the air) updates. Once you’re successfully enrolled, you’ll see an update available within a few hours.

While it’s exciting to try out Android’s latest and greatest features, we strongly suggest you do not install the beta on your primary smartphone. Android P is currently in a very early beta, and there’s going to be problems and missing features. If you install Android P and decide to switch back to Android 8.0 Android, you may lose data and need to flash your device.