Top Features of Android 11 & How It Will Impact Mobile Applications
Talking about the world of mobile apps, we know that Android is one of the most popular mobile app platforms and another one being iOS for iPhone apps. With every upgrade, Google has constantly improved and added new robust features, making it simpler for the team of Android app developers to build better apps. As Android has undeniably become a very common platform for developers. After the successful update of Android 10 where we got dark mode and other major changes in-app permission front, more features and updates are expected with the launch of Android 11. Let’s take a sneak peek on what are the things that android app developers can expect with the new Android features.
Major Highlights from Android 11
Though the complete build of Android 11 has not been revealed yet, we are all set to find out what the features would likely be. Google enables developers to add uniqueness with every update that helps in building remarkable mobile apps with new features. We believe that this release will be a game-changer in the history of android app development. However, it is important to ensure that you pick the right team of developers and make use of the upgrade properly. Without wasting any further time, let’s see what Android 11 offers and how the features will affect the mobile applications.
Also Read: Is Android the Best Fit for Enterprises?
Here are the new features in Android 11 that every mobile app developers should be aware of-
- Improved Messaging Experience
One of the best features that will be added in the Android 11 upgrade is improved user experience with messaging i.e. chat bubbles that enable users to hide the ongoing conversations/tests at the side of the screen or view the message by clicking on the bubble. Additionally, users get a conversation section in the notification panel to see their real-time messages and even send images while replying to a conversation through the notification bar.
- In-Built Screen Recording Feature
You don’t need a screen recorder app from now! Android 11 upgrades will give you a built-in screen recording feature. Though it’s not a feature that users would need daily, it is surely the one that everyone has been waiting for. What’s more? The recorder will be supported by a UI and a toggle for audio recording and showing the touches in the video.
- More Safety and Privacy
Moving to the next feature in Android 11, more security and privacy is expected as Google has increased the security measure for your smartphones. This will enable every user to enjoy more privacy and safety of their data and information stored in their phones.
- One-Time Permission to an App
Another feature is an update in the permission manager providing users with an option of “Allow only when in use”. Focusing more on data privacy, Android 11’s new feature of one-time permission will allow access to the location, microphone, or camera only once, which means when the user quits the app, the permission will be revoked automatically. To avail this, users just need to choose “Only this time” option, and permissions will be granted to the app only once.
- API for 5G Connection
Talking about the current situation of coronavirus pandemic, which is impacting every industry and business, the need for good internet service has increased tremendously. To prepare for better 5G experience, Android 11 has introduced “Dynamic Meteredness API”. This API is all set to help users get benefits on smartphones with 5G support. As soon as the API finds out that your smartphone is connected to unlimited 5G, you will start enjoying the finest possible graphics and high- quality video that comes with a 5G connection.
- Easily Adapt to Different Screens
As many of you must be aware of the foldable smartphone trend that is coming back to trend, some users must be quite excited about this. To witness new additions in the foldable smartphone market where devices will be running at different screen sizes and resolutions, Android OS 11 will help every mobile app run smoothly as expected in a foldable device as well. Developers no longer need to worry about foldable devices with the upgrade of Android 11.
- Dark Mode Scheduling
Another best feature of Android 11 is the scheduled dark mode option. Though we got some glimpses of this feature in Android 9 and 10 as well, we can now schedule whenever we want the dark mode to be active in our android devices. Whether you want to schedule it for sunrise or sunset or choose a preferred time, you can set it anytime you want according to your preference.
We have listed some of the top features that will come with Android 11. Apart from that, there are many other features like Airplane mode will not disconnect Bluetooth devices, silent notifications won’t take space in the status bar, WiFi experience will be more improved while using mobile apps. After going through these new features and API, we are sure you are as much excited as we are and we will see how these will bring a change in the existing app functionality.
Top Reasons Why Business Must Opt for Android App Development
Before we move to the next section and discuss the impact of Android 11 on mobile apps, let’s see why businesses must opt for Android apps. Android, the renowned platform for mobile apps developed by Google is very popular among a huge customer base globally. With the unprecedented growth of the Play Store, we are aware that Android apps are popular among businesses and even developers and Play Store witnesses around 250 million downloads daily.
Here are the main reasons why businesses must go for the Android app for the best business benefits.
- Broad Customer Base
If you want your business to get exposure to a million users and attract higher ROI, the Android app is the one. The report says Android app downloads have reached 41.9 billion in 2019.
- Cost-Effectiveness
As compared to iOS apps, Android apps are more cost-efficient and the cost of development is lesser as well. All you need is a one-time fee during registration for Android apps and it comes with a huge range of tools and libraries in Android, which makes app development easier & cheaper.
- Simplified Integration
Another best thing about Android apps is that it supports easy app integration with customizations as per the specific business requirements. As the apps are easy to integrate with third-party APIs, development time is lesser.
- Device Compatibility
We know that Android is one platform in the mobile apps market that has a huge number of manufacturers (One Plus, Samsung, and many more). This means the android apps are compatible with the number of devices having different screen sizes and resolutions.
- Customizations
As Google Play store guidelines support innovation, you can build your Android app with customizations to reflect your business vision clearly and achieve your goals faster. Additionally, android apps are highly scalable, which is very important for any growing business.
- Better Storage
If we compare the Android and iOS apps, we know that Apple is still behind when it comes to cloud storage. With the storage of only 5GB, iPhone’s space is not sufficient for data and document storage. While Google Drive offers 15 GB of free storage which is quite sufficient for most of the users.
As we are now aware of the benefits associated with Android apps, you must be wondering how much it will cost to build an app. The development cost will indeed depend on several factors namely platform of the app, US/UI Design, App complexity, category of app, maintenance, and more. However, it is always a good idea to get an estimated development cost at the initial stage to help you plan your budget better.
To efficiently calculate the development cost of the Android app, make use of the App cost calculator that can help you estimate the cost according to the features chosen as per requirements. All you need to do is answer a few questions related to your app and get the approx. cost, which is calculated by multiplying the development hours needed to build the app and cost of hours of the resources spent.
Android 11 Features that will Affect Mobile Apps
Moving to the next section, we will find out how the release of Android 11 will affect mobile applications. This will be a great advantage for developers looking out for better features to create exceptional Android apps. The three main aspects that need to be considered are behavior changes, privacy & security features, and new features & APIs.
Here is the glance on how features of Android 11 will impact the mobile applications’ performance-
- App Usage to be More Private
Keeping more focus on users’ data privacy, Android 11 will store the data of app usage in encrypted storage. This means that no application or system can access these data unless some coding is done. Ensure that the developers are well aware of this to avoid any issues in viewing the app usage stats.
- Lower Data Redundancy
Talking about media playback or machine learning, an app would try to use the same large datasets on another app.This means, both the app needs to download a separate copy of the dataset for the same process in earlier Android versions. However, with Android 11, data redundancy has been reduced on disk and network as it enables datasets to get cached on devices with the help of shared data blobs.
- Flexibility in Granting Permissions
To get over with the repeated requests for single permission, Android 11 will give more flexibility to help users restrict when permission dialog appears. They simply have to click “Deny” twice for specific permission and it would automatically imply ‘’ don’t ask again”, which will convince the reason behind asking for permission.
- More Clarity on App Process Exit
Another plus point of Android 11 is that users can get more clarity with reasons whenever a particular process of the app exits. Reports will be available to users with every detail of process terminations. However, the app owners won’t have access to these reports; hence they won’t find out if it ended due to memory issues or any other reasons.
- Neural Network Applications
One of the important updates of Android 11 for the apps based on Machine Learning and Neural Networks is its new Neural Networks API 1.3, which is all set to make the apps run seamlessly on devices. This upgrade won’t just make it easier to run the apps but also simplify the way to integrate machine learning into apps.
- More Benefits with 5G Support
As we mentioned earlier too, the 5G support will help every android app perform better in terms of user experience with benefits such as faster file sharing, quicker downloads, and lesser streaming issues. This will give a chance to many businesses that are looking for better infrastructure in their apps with 5G support.
- Incremental APK Installation
With Android 11, Google has come up with incremental APK installation which will help in saving time that usually takes while installing large APKs on devices, even for a minor change. This feature will boost the app by installing a part of APK during the app launch and stream the rest in the background.
Closing Statement
As we wait for the final release of the complete build of Android 11, it is clear that it will offer better features and tools for both users as well as developers. If you are a business owner looking for ways to make an interesting mobile app, ensure that you choose the right team of the leading mobile app development Company. Go for our skilled developers who are equipped with the latest technologies and trends to make an awesome app for your business. Our developers are all set to bring your app on Android 11 just in time of its launch. For any project requirements, just know that our team is always up and working amidst lockdown to serve you the best possible way with the latest updates.