Android 9.0 Features

1. Indoor navigation with Wi-Fi RTT

Android P now supports IEEE 802.11mc WiFi protocol which is also known as Wi-Fi Round-Trip-Time (RTT). It’s one of the best features that Android fans are waiting for.

This new feature enables indoor GPS style tracking by determining your location within a building and facilitating turn-by-turn directions to help you navigate indoors.

2. Gesture Navigation

Google has redesigned the way you navigate the OS by introducing Gesture Navigation in Android P similar to iPhone X.

3. Dashboard

It’s easy to lose track of time while you are glued to your phone watching YouTube videos, playing games, or checking out social media.

4. App Timer

Another step towards Digital Wellbeing is the App Timer feature which lets you set time limits on apps you use for a more extended period.

5. Do Not Disturb

Meetings and family gathering often demand your full presence, and Android P is going to help you with that through its modified Do Not Disturb mode.

6. Wind Down

Many of us spend hours on our phones at night before we actually fall asleep. Wind Down will help you curb this habit by switching on Night Light and turning on the Do Not Disturb mode at your chosen bedtime.

7. Notch support

Whether you like it or not, every smartphone manufacturer is following the trend of notch displays. And Google seemed a little unprepared since Android 8.0 had no support for a display cut-out.

8. App Actions

App Actions is another great feature in Android P that helps you better navigate through the day by giving smart suggestions based on your habits. It can automatically anticipate your next action based on the current action.

9. Slices

‘Slices’ is one of the best Android P features which comes in handy at several places. It lets you perform basic application activities outside the app.

Let’s say you search for ‘Lyft’ in Google Search.

10. Lockdown mode

The latest addition to the power menu is the “Enter Lockdown” button. It’s one of the top features of Android P that further boosts the security of your phone.

11. Zoom in text

We can finally get rid of the annoying mistakes of selecting incorrect text. Android P will now support Zoom lens feature.

12. Smarter Notification Channels

The notification channels on Android P have been revamped and it allows you to block the certain type of notifications from appearing on your phone.

13. Improvement in messaging apps

Messaging apps have received several improvements to enhance the overall experience. A notable feature is a provision for developers to make images viewable in the notification shade for all incoming messages.

14. An easier way to take screenshots and edit them

We have already discussed the how to use Android P’s new screenshot editor where you can edit and share your screenshots immediately after taking them.

15. Auto-Rotate Button

The addition of new contextually aware button makes auto-rotation a whole lot easier and is one of the incredibly handy Android features I have seen.

16. Dark theme

In the past, Google automatically applied a dark or light theme based on the wallpaper’s color tone. But Android P features a notable option to manually change from different themes.

17. Increased security

With the increase of privacy concerns like Facebook tracking your activities, it’s a relief to know that Android has revamped its privacy factor in the newest version.

18. Default HTTPS for apps

Internet browsing works on two protocols: HTTP and HTTPS, with a major difference being the encryption feature of the latter.

19. Pair up to 5 Bluetooth devices

In Android 8.1 Oero, you had the option of simultaneously connecting two devices via Bluetooth. But with Android P, you can pair up to a maximum of five devices. It is important to note that this new feature isn’t for simultaneous playback, however, it works well with the new media panel

20. Alert tone to notify call recordings

Call recording feature is quite old, but what’s new is its ability to notify all parties whenever a conversation is being recorded.

21. Media Panel

Google Media notification panel has always been chaotic. A lot of us had gone through that embarrassing situation when a video plays on full volume even when we had turned it down.

22. Support for HEIF image and HDR VP9 video format

The High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) is a new image format developed by MPEG group. Its advanced compression method retains higher image quality than JPEG images and creates smaller file size.

23. Autofill in browsers

Android Oreo’s implementation of Autofill has one limitation, and that is its inability to work with browsers.

24. 157 new emojis

With the Android P, Google has introduced 157 new emojis including gender inclusive emoji as well as few minor tweaks in emoji designs.

25. Ambient Display for Battery Percentage

Ambient Display was originally designed to show the current time and notifications on the phone without having to go to the home screen.

26. Adaptive Battery

Google is relying more and more on AI to enrich user experience and its latest example is ‘Adaptive Battery.’ As per the company, it has partnered with DeepMind to get inputs on how to use machine learning for the best battery performance.

27. Adaptive Brightness

Google is aiming at making smartphones smarter by making it learn from your habits and adapt according to your preferences.

28. ART improvements

New changes in the OS will improve the Android Runtime (ART) resulting in a significant performance and efficiency boosts.