June 24, 2020

What to Expect in Android 11

Industry News

Mobile Application Testing

We’re in a season of new releases, and next up is Android 11. Consumers will be ready to update to the latest and greatest, but will your apps be prepared to perform on this new OS? In this blog, you’ll learn about the exciting new Android 11 features, the anticipated release date, and how dev and testing teams can prepare their apps ahead of time.

Android 11 Release Date

Following four developer previews, Google recently released the Android 11 beta on June 10. We don’t know the official Android 11 release date. But based on past releases, we can safely assume to see Android 11 in September.

Android 11 New Features & Enhancements

Android 11 new features offer many enhancements that users will find helpful and appealing. And all of these new features need to be tested thoroughly.

Bubbles for Messaging

Messaging gets an update in “Bubbles” — a Facebook Messenger-like feature that remains active on the screen in a “bubble” no matter what app you use. Clicking on the bubble brings you to the message thread.

New Quick Controls

In Android 11, you can customize your quick controls along the top of the screen. Sync with smart home items, like doorbells and thermostats. Add shortcuts to Google Pay, boarding passes, and more.

Notifications

Android 11 allows for the sorting of notifications and prioritizing important ones, like SMS messages. Notifications for less important apps can be sorted and silenced.

Picture-in-Picture Video Resizing

Picture-in-picture video streaming, which keeps a video streaming from YouTube of Netflix as you open other apps, can now be adjusted for size.

Screen Recording

Under quick settings, you can start recording with one click. This allows users to record whatever they do on the phone.

Back Gestures

Android 11 allows you to activate gesture navigation, which effectively removes the need for the “back” button. Users can go back by swiping from the edge of the screen, and the sensitivity of this function can be customized.

Scheduled Dark Mode

With Android 11, you can now schedule times for Dark Mode to kick in automatically.

Updated Security Controls

Android 11 will introduce single-time permissions. This allows for much higher user control compared to previous settings, which had more limited options.

5G Capabilities

Android 11 will have a Dynamic Meterdness API, which enables you to take full advantage of 5G speeds.

Foldable Support

Android 11 will offer support for foldable phones.

How Testing & Dev Teams Can Prepare for Android 11

From a customer perspective, Android 11 is an exciting new update. From a testing/dev perspective, it’s an entirely new platform to test.

Dev and testing teams need to test against the Android 11 beta now and leading up to the Android 11 release. This will give them time to make sure new features and enhancements in the platform work with their apps. It will also unveil any potential regression defects.

Starting from testing Android 11 against the Google pixel devices, will provide a good overview on your apps functionality, performance, and support for the new features and UI changes in this new platforms. In addition, and as a major change in this OS – consider testing your app with Android 11 within a Foldable environment. This can be done either through the Android Studio Samsung emulators, or through the Perfecto real foldable smartphones in the cloud.

Not all devices will support Android 11, so teams will need to ensure that Android 10 is still compatible with their apps. You can learn more about device usage in your geographical area to ensure complete test coverage on the most widely-used devices.

Related Resource: Mobile & Web Test Coverage Index Spring 2020

Get Ready for Android 11 With Perfecto

Don’t miss a beat with Android 11. With Perfecto’s same-day access, you can ensure instant testing for defect-free apps.

Perfecto guarantees launch-day access to Android 11, along with iOS 14, and any other new release. Even before the release, test on beta versions in the Perfecto cloud on real mobile devices, plus simulators and emulators.

Learn more about the supported devices, generations, and operating systems that are available in Perfecto’s testing cloud And check out our comprehensive list of devices available with Perfecto.

Ready to get started? Give Perfecto a try for free.

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