Since Tuesday night, Android 10 has arrived on smartphones Pixel. Little by little, its installation will be offered to models of other brands such as Samsung, OnePlus or Sony. Futura offers you an overview of the most important changes.
Google has officially launched a new version of its mobile operating system. Speculation has gone very fast on the new name, after previous versions all with names of desserts or sweets. Called Android Q during the beta phase, the new version is simply called Android 10. Owners of Pixel smartphones will be able to install the update now, while for other devices it will be necessary to wait for the deployment by the manufacturer (Samsung, Sony, Huawei, Xiaomi, OnePlus).
Android 10 brings a lot of novelties, including five essential functions. The first is gesture navigation. Borderless screens becoming the norm, Google has decided to facilitate use with one hand, replacing the traditional navigation buttons.
Swipe down from the bottom of the screen to return to the Home screen or open the application tray. Swipe left or right on the bottom edge of the screen to switch between open applications. Finally, slide your finger from the left or right edge of the screen toward the center to go back. It remains to be seen how the different applications will adapt.
Automatic subtitles on all multimedia content
The second function is the dark mode that will apply throughout the system but also for applications. A new button in the notifications bar shortcuts to switch the screen to dark, with the use of “absolute” black in the background color to save battery power. Many applications already support this mode natively, so they will also switch to dark mode.
Google has also been working on accessibility features, including the new ” Live Captioning “. This system automatically adds subtitles to current content, such as what already exists for YouTube. The difference is that this feature will be available on all video and audio content, and compatible with all applications. Owners Pixel phones will enjoy this fall, but no release date is planned for other smartphones.
Security updates downloaded directly through Google Play
Android 10 also brings many improvements in security and respect for privacy. Google has made changes to the application access to geolocation services. From now on, you will be able to limit the access of each application to your location. Applications will only be able to access your location when they are active. Those allowed to access the geolocation services in the background will trigger a notification at each access.
Finally, the system security updates will now be distributed by Google Play, rather than the complete system update, distributed by the manufacturer. They will be available immediately on all compatible Android devices. This will prevent some smartphones from being exposed to known vulnerabilities because of a manufacturer that takes a long time to send the update to users, or no longer supports some of its smartphone models.