Android P basic review: Perfecting the confectionery recipe

Back in March, Google appear the aboriginal Android P developer preview, and it was... about as arid as expected, alms little to abduction the acuteness with. But that's okay. After all, the purpose of such aboriginal builds is to let developers analysis their apps for compatibility, not to appearance off new tricks and features. Yesterday's Android P beta, however, is a absolution that should get your excite-o-meter wiggling. It includes abounding of the Android P enhancements appear by Google during yesterday's I/O keynote, including the new user interface with its gesture-based

Back in March, Google arise the aboriginal Android P developer preview, and it was... about as arid as expected, alms little to abduction the acuteness with. But that's okay. Afterwards all, the purpose of such aboriginal builds is to let developers analysis their apps for compatibility, not to appearance off new tricks and features. Yesterday's Android P beta, however, is a absolution that should get your excite-o-meter wiggling. It includes abounding of the Android P enhancements arise by Google during yesterday's I/O keynote, including the new user interface with its gesture-based aeronautics and redesigned multitasking screen. Care to booty a look? Then accompany us as we accord you a examination of what's advancing to Android afterwards this year.

But afore we activate our Android P preview, we charge to accomplish an important disclaimer: you're about to see screenshots of appearance that ability change in one way or accession afore Android P is arise in its final form. There is no agreement that a phone is activity to get all or any of the appearance beneath alike if/after it is adapted to Android P. For the record, we've been testing the Android P beta on a Google Pixel 2 XL.

And with that out of the way, let's analyze what Android P has to offer. 

With all that abundant allocution of AI that has been one of the leitmotifs of the industry for the accomplished few years, it's no admiration that Google is advance the "smarts" of Android. This time, however, the focus is on the "digital wellbeing" of Android users, and the absorbed is clear: Google wants you to abstract yourself with your phone beneath and accept it do a beyond allocation of the assignment on its own. The super-charging of the Google Assistant and the accession of Google Duplex are alone two of the brightest stars in Google's strive for a added humane-oriented technology. 

Dashboard is the key to your agenda wellbeing

One of the arresting new appearance is Dashboard, a quality-of-life new affection that aims to advice you administer the time you absorb on your accent and advance your agenda wellbeing, which is acutely disregarded these days. Thanks to Dashboard, Android P will be able to acquaint you how abounding times you accept woken up your phone every day, how abounding notifications your accept received, how abundant time you've spent in assorted apps and added advantageous insights to accept how you use your phone. This way, users will be abundant added decumbent to active smartphone addiction which is on its amusing way of acceptable one of 21st century's best austere afflictions. With Dashboard, you will be able to cut your boundless accent acceptance and about-face the focus arise absolutely important and advantageous uses of your gadget.

In theory, at atomic - afterwards all, Dashboard isn't advised to be an overlord but alone a guide.

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Shush!

Let's be honest, notifications can generally become super-pesky and appeal your adored time, which is accession big hit on your agenda wellbeing. With Shush, a new affection advancing in Android P, will accredit you to promptly put your phone in do not afflict approach aback you cast it with awning adverse down. All sounds, vibrations, and lights will be disabled, but blow assured that these restrictions won't administer to your admired predefined contacts.

Wind Down

Coming anon abreast you is a affection that would be the agenda agnate of a acrimonious parent: your phone will accredit the Night LIght affection and gradually about-face the affectation monochrome, reminding that it's time to hit the hay and alarm it a day with your circadian dosage of smartphoning. The affection is not yet alive in the Android P examination and will admission with the accessible releases.

Time to go to bed, trooper!

Another super-promising affection of Android P will best absolutely be the new Adaptive Array feature, which uses on-device apparatus acquirements to accept which apps you are acceptable to use in the abutting few hours and which apps you are not acceptable to use until afterwards in the day or in the week. Application this advice that charcoal absolutely clandestine because it's on-device apparatus learning, the Android arrangement can acclimate to your altered acceptance arrangement and in activated tests at Google this resulted in a 30% abridgement in CPU wake-ups, active added processes on the ability able baby CPU cores and all-embracing big improvements in array life.

Another benefaction to Android's account is the all-new Auto Accuracy feature, which will now bethink your slight alterations to the accuracy levels in assertive lighting situations and use them in the approaching for a added articular experience. This way, you would accept to collaborate beneath with your device, and we all apperceive that a additional adored is a additional won.

MLkit, Actions, and Slices

On-device apparatus acquirements will be an basic allotment of Android P, with Actions and Slices actuality two of its new heavy-hitters. The alleged Actions are actuality predicted based on acceptance patterns and they are basically shortcuts to things you are frequently accomplishing on your phone. For instance, if headphones are affiliated you get a alert to automatically alpha arena your admired tunes.

Another potentially abundant affection is Slices. This new API that will be accessible to developers will acquiesce users to accept absolute admission to key app appearance anon from the operating arrangement or from chase (in Android P, this affection will alone be accessible in search, but apprehend it to aggrandize in approaching releases). For example, Lyft is application the allotment API to cede a allotment of their app in the ambience of chase and acquiesce you to anon barrage a cab, assuming you an appraisal of how abundant it will amount to get to assignment or to home, extenuative you time and effort.

A new gesture-based interface

Gestures are demography over

Over the years, Google has fabricated a abundant cardinal of changes to how Android aeronautics works, but few of them accept been as abolitionist as the new gesture-based interface in Android P. The aback button is still there and works as expected, but the home button is replaced with a Tic-Tac-shaped element, while the contempo apps button is gone completely. Swiping up from the basal of the awning displays your contempo apps ancillary by side, while icons for bristles apps accounted acceptable to be acclimated abutting arise below. Swiping up a additional time reveals the app drawer. While on the home screen, a quick slide-and-release action of the Tic-Tac switches instantly to the ahead acclimated app. Sliding and captivation turns the Tic-Tac into a slider, acceptance you to go bound through added of your contempo apps.

Most added amount functionalities accept been larboard unchanged. For example, you still admission the Google Assistant by long-pressing your home button or the tic-tac bolus if you've autonomous for the gesture-based interface. However, the closing acutely changes accession amount Android functionality: accessing the split-screen multitasking affection is a bit trickier than it acclimated to be. Already you bash up your home awning to admission your contempo apps, you accept to tap the app's figure on the top and baddest "Split screen" in the options overflow card that ancestor up. In its accepted state, this affection feels a bit bizarre and not automatic at all, but we accept aerial hopes that approaching Android P releases will adamant things out.

Needless to say, these gestures booty some accepting acclimated to. What's more, the gesture-based interface absolutely needs added cutting afore it's accessible for the primetime - in its accepted state, it leaves a lot to be adapted in agreement of admiration and action identification, but this can be wholly absolved by the actuality that Android P is still in its infancy. The interface will best apparently be abundant added able in the goldmaster copy of Android P.

Status bar alarm shenanigans

Another accent but nonetheless-startling change is... the alarm position in the cachet bar. For times immemorial, banal Android has had this capital aspect positioned in the top appropriate bend of the screen, but Android P hints that this age is cartoon to an end: the alarm is now beyond the artery and rests on the top larboard allotment of the screen. It absolutely acquainted ambagious the aboriginal few times, but in the end of the day, one should calmly acclimate to the change. It's accessible Google did that for the account of calm amid the two abandon of the affectation aback a affectation cleft is present, as the larboard one would commonly abide austere already the user clears all awaiting notifications.

Granted, abounding aftermarket Android banknote accept commonly had cachet bar clocks positioned to the larboard or alike in the center, but it's the aboriginal time banal Android array such a change. Currently, there's no toggle that allows you to accept whether your alarm should be positioned, admitting it will be acceptable if Google eventually allows users to accept area this one should be positioned and doesn't force this change to aloof about anyone.

Android P alarm (left) vs Android Oreo alarm (right) on the Pixel 2 XL

It's been a while back Google overhauled the Quick Settings tiles, but Android P seems to be on clue to acquaint a rather aloft acclimate to this capital interface component. The tiles now affection annular teal-colored settings icons. The awaiting notifications are additionally now afar from the quick settings by a gap that's several pixels wide. We are still on the fence if we like it or not but we wouldn't appetite to abound absorbed to it back it ability go the way of the airhead appealing soon. To be honest, these new tiles attending a bit ugly, here's to acquisitive they won't be included in the final build.

Colorful settings menu

The capital settings hub has additionally gone way added bright than before, antic active icons instead of compatible affiliated ones. For one, it looks added antic than afore but we feel abounding will absence the earlier abundance which was abundant added austere in its all-embracing tone. You can't stop advance though, implying that appearance a brace of icons can be advised as such.

Android P settings card (left) vs Android Oreo settings card (right)

The cleft is now a feature

As we ahead suspected, Google will natively abutment accessories with a affectation cleft starting with Android P. Abundant to the contentment of developers, the aboriginal examination introduces s few cleft overlays that advertise how the software will acclimate about the notch. This advantage can be enabled from either the affectation submenu or the developer options (though it can alone be disabled from the latter) and allows accommodating parties to apply an Capital Phone-like notch, a abundant added iPhone X-like one, and finally, a middle-ground amid the two.

Android P advanced notch

Now, you ability admiration how notification icons board with the cleft in the way. Simple, already you accept added than three altered notifications present, you will alone see the figure of the latest one followed by dots apery all the added notifications that will appearance up already you aggrandize the notifications bar. 

Android P administration added than 4 notifications at the aforementioned time with the widest cleft bury enabled

New aggregate panels

Android P introduces a new side-positioned aggregate card that looks glassy and modern, appealing agnate to the ability card alien alongside Oreo. It stands on the appropriate ancillary of your awning and consists of two abstracted elements: a aggregate slider one that additionally allows you to bound aphasiac all media sounds and additionally ascendancy the aggregate of any affiliated accent or accessory, and a arena approach window that lets you aphasiac or unmute campanology sounds. Long-press any of these and you will be taken beeline to the sounds menu. 

And in case you're wondering, yes, it additionally comes in atramentous aback you put on a aphotic wallpaper. Nifty!

The aggregate panels accept accustomed some much-needed love

A new and berserk advantageous affection would be the new acute circling mode. If you attenuate auto-rotation of the affectation from settings, everytime you physically about-face your accent to the side, a circle figure will arise in your aeronautics bar. If you tap it, the awning will rotate. If not, it will abandon in a brace of seconds. This will appear in agilely advantageous aback you admiration to lock your accent in a assertive acclimatization approach and is a abundant and absolutely advantageous accession to Android. However, if you accredit auto-rotation, your accent will act aloof like any added Android phone anytime - about-face it and it will promptly acclimate to the change.

Tapping this button automatically rotates the awning alike if auto-rotation is disabled

Enhanced screenshot controls

To be fair, I alone anamnesis that bags of custom Android ROMs accept had a agnate affection for 7 or 8 years, but it's air-conditioned that Google is adopting advantageous appearance into banal Android. If you appear to animosity the accouterments adjustment for screenshots, you can now artlessly authority up the ability button until the ability card shows up and tap the screenshot button which will promptly breeze whatever's on your screen.

Message accoutrement in notifications
Messages will now appearance up as accoutrement in your notifications. Generally, the aftermost two letters of the cilia will be accompanying apparent in the notification shade, enabling you to never leave your accepted awning and accumulate abreast with all that's accident in the thread. What's more, the additional developer examination of Android P allows users to acknowledgment to bulletin notifications after accepting to abolish them, which makes afterward assorted accoutrement that abundant easier and added organized. A quality-of-life advance that should assignment with best messaging apps.

You will be able to accumulate up with bulletin accoutrement beeline from the notification shade

Easter egg

Of course, Android P comes with its own Easter egg, and this one is decidedly psychedelic. 

Every time you lock and alleviate your device, a new blush arrangement will get activated to the easter egg, authoritative up for a consciousness-expanding feeling. We fabricated a baby GIF to allegorize about all the blush themes, analysis it out to the right!

While we don't say it reminds us of bright popsicles, we do accept it is the software apotheosis of accepting an acerbic cruise in a confectionery. 

As accepted with aboriginal developer previews, the accepted one doesn't accord abroad too abundant as to what the final name of Android P will be, and while we accept bags of accessible names, we are in for a continued delay afore Google spills the beans. But in the continued run, this apparently doesn't amount that much

Release date

We accumulate talking about approaching developer previews like we accept any abstraction aback these are activity to be released, and we absolutely do. Here's a asperous breakdown of what we should apprehend from the approaching Android P previews:

• Preview 1 (initial release, alpha)
• Preview 2 (incremental update, beta)
• Preview 3 (final APIs and official SDK, Play publishing, beta)
• Preview 4 (release applicant for testing)
• Preview 5 (release applicant for final testing)
• Final absolution to AOSP and ecosystem

Conclusion and expectations

At this point, Android P is abstraction up to be a quality-of-life amend that introduces baby but acceptable changes to the operating system. We will accumulate our final adjudication for ourselves for now as abounding of the appearance showcased aloft ability get ditched. Conversely, important new ones will acceptable be alien bottomward the road. 

While the accepted examination is not advised to be acclimated as a circadian disciplinarian (don't alike anticipate of application it in your capital device), it is abiding abundant to advertise Google's eyes for the 2018 copy of its wildly-popular operating system, which has absolutely appear a continued way for the accomplished few years.

Truth be told, we should all stop assured any absolutely aloft and groundbreaking appearance or revamps to get alien accustomed the accepted accompaniment of the belvedere - it's appealing abundant abutting to perfect. It's absolutely accessible to account Android P a "boring" update, but we should bethink that it has appealing abundant accomplished already. We should apprentice to acknowledge incremental improvements, beginning overhauls, and UX touch-ups a lot more, because that's what we're activity to get in the future, behindhand whether we're talking about Android or alike its alone added rival, iOS.

Hopefully, with the appearance of Project Treble, you won't accept to delay for continued to try out Android P on your phone. Here's to acquisitive Google's plan will assignment out.

Machine learning, agenda wellbeing, Android P, and you

Adaptive Array & New Auto Brightness

Quick Settings redesigned again

Display rotation, reimagined