Google LLC’s Android division today announced the release of Android 11 Developer Preview 2, featuring changes to the user interface, a smarter keyboard, faster messaging experiences, new 5G-related application programming interfaces and updated security measures.

This new preview is aimed at Android developers so they can get a handle on what to expect in Android 11 when it’s released to the general public. This second preview follows the first developer preview build, which was published on Feb. 19.

New experiences available in DP2 include a 5G state API that will allow apps to discover if a user is currently using a 5G New Radio or Non-Standalone Network. These tools will make it easier for developers and apps to take advantage of 5G speeds and lower latency when available.

Android 11 will also be able to detect the hinge angle of foldables, in order to create adaptive experiences for foldable devices. Another API will add call screening service improvements to help deal with robocalls including enhanced verification standards against caller ID spoofing, reporting call-rejection reasons, and an added post-call screen that will let users perform actions such as marking a call as spam or adding it to contacts.

The Neural Networks API also received some upgrades including new ops and controls. Android 11 added a computationally efficient training operation called the hard-swish op. This is key to accelerating next-generation support for on-device computer vision models, which assists apps in recognizing gestures, facial features, objects and camera filters in enhancing images.

New privacy features added in this preview include foreground service types for camera and microphone security and scoped storage updates. Foreground services ensure more accountability for apps that want to access these parts of the device, making it easier for the operating system to control what apps can access and how they can access it. Scoped storage provides better protection for on-device storage by preventing unauthorized access.

More information on privacy features included in Android 11 is available on the Android developer’s documentation portal.

On the user experience front, Android 11 DP2 adds synchronized input method editor transitions and system bar animations that will allow OS and app control to reduce “jankiness” when transitioning between reading and typing.

For game developers, Android 11 will now include a better version of variable refresh rate controls. Apps and games can now set a preferred refresh rate for their windows. Most Android apps refresh the display at 60 Hertz, but some devices support much higher rates, such as 90 Hertz, on these devices. Games can use the higher refresh rate to provide much smoother gameplay experiences.

Because Android devices must reboot when updating OS software, many users may wait hours or days in order to install updates because they don’t want to lose track of what they’re currently doing on the device. To alleviate this behavior, Android 11 includes “resume on reboot,” which will allow apps to access encrypted storage before the device is unlocked so that they can resume normal function immediately.

Finally, the Android team announced that its researchers are working on better app compatibility between versions. The team is now prioritizing app compatibility with the rollout of new platform versions and this will be enabled by new processes, tools and release milestones designed to minimize the impact of updates to make them easier for developers.

Developer Preview 2 is well along its way toward the beta release of Android 11, so now is the time for developers to start compatibility testing. The beta is expected to become available in May and June, with a stable release and general availability sometime in the third quarter of 2020.

A full outline of the developer milestones is available on the Android 11 Developer Preview overview page. The full details for the preview are available on the Android 11 developer site and since it is designed for developers, not general release, it can be installed only via manual download and flash for Pixel 2, 3, 3a or 4 devices.

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