Google has released the Android Q Beta for early adopters and developers today. Google has made this first beta available for all Pixel smartphones (including the original 2016 devices). While the final release of Android Q is not expected to arrive until the third quarter of 2019, this preview gives everyone a good idea of what we can expect in this latest Android version.
Google has outlined a full blog post with the key changes, but in summary, these are the some of the newest features:
Greater control over location – Android will now give users more control to use location for a particular app only when the app is in use (running), or all the time (when in the background)
Access settings panels within apps – Users will now be able to toggle airplane mode and turn Wi-Fi on/off without leaving their app
Sharing shortcuts – Allows users to jump directly into another app to share content
Portrait mode support for photos – Android will make it easier for apps to use depth data by requesting a JPEG + Dynamic Depth image
Support for foldable devices – Android will better support split-screen applications
Possible theme engine support – Google may also allow users to different accent colours, headline and body fonts, and icon shapes
Obviously, it will be a while before we can start talking about when this arrives to Xperia devices, but it looks like Android will be getting some even more useful features in its next major iteration.
