Developer Preview 1: What's new in Android 11?

Android 11 Developer Preview is available on Google Pixel 4 / 4XL, Pixel 3a / 3a XL, Pixel 3 / 3 XL, and Pixel 2 / 2 XL.

Google has released the first Developer Preview of the next version of Android for testing, development, and feedback, earlier than ever. The Developer Preview builds provide an early test and development environment that developers can use to identify compatibility issues in the app and plan migration or feature work needed to target the new platform.

Google says the Developer Preview releases are for developers only and not suitable for daily use by early adopters or consumers. Android 11 Developer Preview is available on Google Pixel 4 / 4XL, Pixel 3a / 3a XL, Pixel 3 / 3 XL, and Pixel 2 / 2 XL. The release brings a host of new capabilities for apps, like enhancements for foldable phones and 5G, call-screening APIs, new media and camera capabilities, machine learning, and more.

"With Android 11 we're keeping our focus on helping users take advantage of the latest innovations while continuing to keep privacy and security a top priority. We've added multiple new features to help users manage access to sensitive data and files, and we've hardened critical areas of the platform to keep the OS resilient and secure," Dave Burke, VP of Engineering for Android said in a blog post.

Google said the Developer Preview program runs from February 2020 until the final public release to AOSP and OEMs, planned for Q3 2020. From Developer Previews to final release, here's the complete timeline for Android 11.

Timeline	Build	Type
February	Developer Preview 1	Early baseline build focused on developer feedback, with new features, APIs, and behavior changes.
March	Developer Preview 2	Incremental update with additional features, APIs, and behavior changes.
April	Developer Preview 3	Incremental update for stability and performance.
May	Beta 1	Initial beta-quality release, over-the-air update to early adopters who enroll in Android Beta.
June	Beta 2	Platform Stability milestone. Final APIs and behaviors. Play publishing opens. (Platform Stability will help developers plan final testing and releases.)
Q3	Beta 3	Release candidate build.
Q3	Final release	Android 11 release to AOSP and ecosystem.

What's new in Android 11?

5G

With Android 11, users will be able to take advantage of improved speed from 5G, the next-generation high-speed cellular networks. Google says it is enhancing and updating the existing connectivity APIs in Android 11 including the Dynamic meteredness API for higher resolution or quality content and Bandwidth estimator API to make it easier to check the downstream/upstream bandwidth.

New form-factors and displays

Smartphone manufacturers continue to innovate on new form-factors and screens. With new APIs, apps will be able to manage pinhole screens and waterfall screens.

Privacy

Keeping privacy at the core of Android, as usual, Google is adding more features to keep users secure and increase transparency and control. These include:

• One-Time permission: Users can grant temporary access to location, microphone, and camera through one-time permission, and they must then request permission again for the next access.
• Scoped storage: Apps targeting Android 11 are always subject to scoped storage behaviors. The new preview release includes several enhancements, such as opt-in raw file path access for media, updated DocumentsUI, and batch edit operations in MediaStore.
• Background location access: The next version of Android also includes changes to how apps can request background location permission from users.

Security

Android 11 introduces new features and APIs to raise the bar for security.

• The BiometricPrompt now supports three authenticator types with different levels of granularity -- strong, weak, and device credential.
• With BlobstoreManager, apps can now share data blobs easily and more safely with other apps.
• Android 11 also adds platform support for secure storage and retrieval of verifiable identification documents like Mobile Driving Licenses.

Other improvements and new features in Android 11 include:

• Dedicated conversations section and Chat Bubbles
• Call screening service improvements
• Wi-Fi suggestion API enhancements
• Image and camera improvements
• Low-latency decoding for games and other real-time apps
• Muting notification sounds and vibrations while using the camera