Google has recently rolled out the second Beta version of the upcoming Android Q operating system. The Android Q Beta 2, the successor to Android Pie (version 9.0), features a lot of new goodies including multitasking bubbles, a completely new foldable emulator and reworked gestures.
Google has been constantly evolving the Android operating system and releasing beta versions before a stable release helps developers play around with new features and make their applications compatible with an upcoming version.
The beta versions also help developers learn and understand the new features offered by Google. This way, developers can make sure that their applications make the best use of all offered features. The Android Q Beta 2 is followed by a new software development kit (SDK), a foldable emulator, and new and improved gesture control options.
The foldable device emulator will help developers test their applications on foldable and resizable displays that seem to be the next revolutionary step in the smartphone industry. New and improved gestures will help developers incorporate better accessibility in their applications.
The Android Q Beta 2 also features a new scoped storage system which offers more control to the users over shared files in the memory.
Applications will now be able to access private sandboxes and new access requests have been created for photos, videos, and audio. If you don’t understand what all these technical terms mean, let us simplify it for you: applications have less control over your smartphone’s internal storage by default.
Better Multitasking
According to Google, the new Bubbles featured in the Android Q will help “make interactions consistent, safeguard user privacy, reduce development time, and drive innovation.” Don’t we all love the message bubbles designed by Facebook in the Messenger application?
A similar type of bubble will be used to prioritize information for the user and allow them to act instantly without having to minimize applications. The bubbles will help users make calls, and recordings, view notifications, make notes, and write and send text messages without having to stop their primary activity.
Zooming the Audio
The Android Q Beta 2 also added a new audio capture API. The API (Application Programming Interface) allows smartphones to focus more in a specific direction and to zoom the audio capturing in that direction using the microphone direction API.
Applications developers can specify a field dimension to record voices in a focused and efficient manner. This API will also be able to reduce noise levels as it won’t be recording audio from a generalized field of view (or field of hearing in this case).
Google was going very slow and sloppy with the Android P beta versions. However, the new Android Q beta versions are being developed in a timely manner and each new version has features that make it better than the previous one. Hopefully, we will be able to a quick and on-time rollout with the Android Q. We sure can’t wait to experience these new features.
