Google's Android 11 Beta Is Now Live: Here's What's New

(Photograph by Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

After postponing Android 11'southward beta release twice, Google released the software today so developers can brainstorm tinkering with it.

The release was supposed to occur on June 3 during a alive-streamed launch event, simply Google decided to postpone the proceedings, citing the George Floyd protests. At present the company has opted to abolish the original event entirely.

"Instead, we are releasing the Android eleven Beta today in a much different form, via brusk-form videos and web pages that yous can consume at your ain step when the time is right for yous," the company wrote in a web log post on Wednesday.

Those with a Google Pixel 2, 3, 3a, or 4 phone tin enroll to download the beta release. The company'south dedicated website for Android 11 also features detailed talks virtually the software and the new features.

People, Controls and Privacy

Google says it designed Android 11 around three key themes: People, controls and privacy. The people theme focuses on reimagining the way the Os can prioritize your friends and family on the interface. Google decided to do this by creating "chat notifications," which volition have their ain dedicated section on the notification bar.

conversation notifications bar (Credit: Google)

"To make communication easier and simpler on your phone, Android 11 will move all of your conversations across multiple messaging apps to a dedicated space in the notification department," Google wrote in a separate blog post. "This makes it piece of cake to run into, reply to and manage your conversations all in ane place. You lot can marker a chat as priority to give it preference and so you never miss an important bulletin."

Bubbles feature (Credit: Google)

Some other change is the introduction of "Bubbling," a floating icon that'll appear on your telephone when a friend, associate, or family unit member texts you. To usa, the feature looks a lot similar Facebook Messenger, which tin can also display "chat heads" over the Android interface.

On the controls forepart, the company wants to arrive easier to use an Android phone to remotely access all your connected devices. And so Android xi features a new "device controls" menu, which can be brought up by long-pressing your phone's power button.

new (Credit: Google)

"Adjusting the temperature, turning on the lights or unlocking the forepart door tin can now be done with a tap without opening multiple apps," Google says. The menu will also give yous quick access to any credit cards you lot saved over Google Pay or to your airline tickets.

New media control button (Credit: Google)

Google besides wants to address how people are constantly switching where their phone's sound content is played from, whether it exist wireless earbuds, Bluetooth speakers, or a smart Television receiver. Android 11 tries to make this easier by including a dedicated button on the music rails that'll let you toggle between the devices on which you lot'd similar to play the audio.

On privacy, Android 11 expands the ways you can limit your data from being shared with third-party apps. Yous'll at present be able to select "one-time permission" for an app to access your telephone's microphone, photographic camera, or location data. "The next time the app needs admission to these sensors, it will have to ask yous for permission again," Google says. (Currently, in Android ten, you tin limit the access to when the third-party app is active, or choose to close down the access completely.)

New privacy features (Credit: Google)

Android eleven besides includes a privacy safeguard confronting apps you granted unnecessary permission to but rarely access. "If users haven't used an app for an extended period of fourth dimension, Android 11 will 'auto-reset' all of the runtime permissions associated with the app and notify the user," Google wrote in today's blog post. "The app can asking the permissions once more the next fourth dimension the app is used."

The visitor says it plans on making the Android eleven beta bachelor to more devices in the coming weeks. Google expects the OS to move out of beta into a public release some time in the third quarter.