Pavlova was robbed.
Rather than name Android P after the definitely-Australian-and-not-Kiwi dessert, Google has christened Android P with a far more pedestrian moniker: pie. Sure, pies can be scrumptious, but they don't quite compare to the crispy-yet-light-and-fluffy wonder that is that the humble pav.
If you can overlook this confectionary crime, there's some good news. If you've got a Pixel or Pixel 2, you can get Android Pie right now as an over-the-air update, but there's a couple of missing features that will arrive in the coming months. Android Pie's "digital wellbeing" features aren't technically present yet, but are available in beta form if you want to try them out. "Slices", which allows apps to surface features into your phone's search bar, isn't quite ready either.
Google says the devices that participated in the Android Pie beta program - including the Sony Xperia XZ2, OPPO R15 Pro, and Nokia 7 Plus - and all qualifying Android One devices will be upgraded before the end of the year.
Here's a look at some of the key new features in Android Pie:
Digital wellbeing
Android Pie's digital wellbeing functionality is a core part of Google's goal to get you using your phone less. Or at the least, to get you using phone in a more mindful way. There's three parts to this.
Dashboard: Android Dashboard is a new hub designed to let you know (or make you feel guilty) about how much time you're spending on your phone. It will tell you:
- Precisely how long you use your phone each day
- What apps you use the most
- When you're using apps
- How many times you've unlocked your phone
- How many notifications you received
App Timer: If you think you're using a particular app too much, Facebook or Instagram for example, you're able to set a limit as to how many minutes you can use it per day. Android will warn you when you're approaching your limit, and after you hit your allocated time, the app gets "paused" The icon greys out and you're not able to open the app. If you want to use it again, you'll have to visit the Dashboard to unpause it.
Wind Down: If you tell your phone when you want to go to sleep, it will automatically turn on Do Not Disturb when that time roles around and gradually fade your display to monochrome to remind you that you should get some shut eye.
Gesture navigation
Android Pie takes a leaf out of the iPhone X's playbook with extensive gesture controls for navigation (although technically Palm did it first). Android's array of software buttons has been replaced with a single nub. Tapping it takes you back home, a half swipe brings up a new multi-tasking menu, and a full swipe opens your app drawer. Swiping the nub can be used to quickly jump between apps. A back button still appears when contextually relevant, but is no longer ever-present.
Actions and Slices
Google also wants to make it quicker to get tasks done on your phone, and as such, Android Pie will be able to surface shortcuts and quick links to apps through two new features: Actions and Slices.
Android Pie will learn about your behaviour over time and use this to provide shortcuts to specific actions within your app drawer. For example, if you normally call mum around 8pm each day, you'd get a shortcut to dial her around that time. Or if you've got a go to Spotify playlist, the app drawer will show you a shortcut to it when you connect headphones.
Actions can also show up in the Play Store, Google Search app, and Google Assistant
Slices lets apps surface functionality without the need to open an app. For example, typing Uber in your device's search bar could bring up quick information about the price and time for a trip home, as well as let you follow through and book your ride.
Alex Choros
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