The wait is over: Google has released the stable version of Android 11 and you can already download it on Pixel smartphones
The latest version of Google's mobile operating system, Android 11, is already running on the first Pixel smartphones: the new OS has in fact been available for a few hours for the Pixel 2, Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL and Pixel 4a and many have already downloaded and installed it to immediately see what are the new features of Android 11. Soon the new Google operating system will be available on smartphones from other manufacturers.
New features are not few and have to do with both the graphical interface and technical aspects, especially related to the security of devices and control of user privacy. Ma non solo: il nuovo Android 11 porta con sé una diversa gestione dei contatti, maggiormente focalizzata sulle persone con cui abbiamo maggiori scambi di messaggi e conversazioni online. La selezione di questi contatti, che potremmo definire “preferiti" (anche se non li scegliamo noi) avviene in base a diversi parametri di interazione ed è gestita dagli algoritmi di intelligenza artificiale di Google.
Android 11: bolle e conversazioni
Dal punto di vista grafico la novità più visibile sono le “bolle“: delle notifiche, a forma appunto di bolla, che galleggiano sullo schermo e che possiamo usare per raccogliere le conversazioni e richiamare in primo piano con un solo tap. All’apertura di una bolla, poi, accanto ad essa vedremo anche eventuali altre bolle.
Passare da una conversazione all’altra, così, diventa facilissimo anche se le conversazioni avvengono su app diverse. In the drop-down menu at the top of the screen, there's now an area specifically dedicated to conversations that appears only when we have messages to read.
Android 11: screen recording as standard
A new feature of Android 11 that will be appreciated by many is certainly the new screen recording feature, without external apps. You can choose whether to record without sound, with the audio playing on the phone, with the microphone or with both. It's now also possible to select text and images and copy them from one app to another.
Android 11: full control over the smart home
With Android 11 it's easier to control the smart devices we have at home: just press and hold the power button and, under the cards registered to Google Pay, we'll see the list of devices registered in the Google Home app. From here we can control them quickly and easily.
Android Auto Wireless for everyone
Another novelty that will be welcomed by many is the ability to use Android Auto Wireless with any smartphone with Android 11 installed. It will now be possible to connect the phone and the car infotainment system without using a USB cable.
Android 11: improved privacy
In Android 11, apps that often access our data will have a much easier time. You can only grant permission to an app once, and the next time it's accessed you'll have to ask for it again.
Android will also automatically remove all permissions from apps you haven't used in a long time. This new management of privacy and permissions, most likely, at first will make some apps that require full access to the phone go haywire.
Which smartphones are receiving Android 11
Unlike in the past, when Google released a new version of Android for its smartphones and only afterwards gave the possibility to other manufacturers to customize it for their own devices, with Android 11 Google has been working closely with different brands so that the new OS would arrive as soon as possible on other devices.
There is still no official list of which smartphones have already received Android 11 or are about to receive it, but OnePlus has already stated that very soon the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro will receive it in North America, Europe and India (but in beta).
Same for the Oppo X2 and Reno 3 smartphones and the Realme X50 Pro. Xiaomi, on the other hand, has started distributing it on its Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro smartphones.