Android 11 Developer Preview 2 introduces new 5G, foldable, call screening, privacy, and quality improvements to the coming platform.

“There’s a lot to check out in Developer Preview 2,” Google vice president Dave Burke writes in the announcement post. “It’s still an early build, but you can start to see how the OS is enabling new experiences in this release, from seamless 5G connectivity to wrapping your UI around the latest screens, to a smarter keyboard and faster messaging experience”

As with the first developer preview release from a month ago, there’s too much to list here. But here’s an overview of some of the more impressive changes and updates in this release.

5G state. Developers can now explicitly test to see whether the device is connected to a 5G network.

Hinge angle. Answering a top request from developers, they can now test to see the angle of the hinge on foldable devices via a new hinge angle sensor.

Scoped storage updates. Google is hell-bent on bringing scoped storage to Android, and this release includes further improvements and changes, including support for migrating files from the legacy model to the new scoped storage model.

Variable refresh rate support. With mobile devices increasingly pushing into higher-end scenarios, Android 11 will support variable refresh rates for apps and games, and will explicitly support refresh rates above 60 Hz.

Resume on reboot. After a device installs an over-the-air (OTA) update overnight, it will reboot into its previous state without first requiring the user to sign-in.

You can learn more at the Android Developer website.

Tagged with Android 11