(Guide) The best Android 10 features to know about

[Karlston]

The best Android 10 features to know about 

 

Slowly but steadily, Android 10 is making its way to almost all flagship Android devices released in 2019. Samsung has already updated the Galaxy S10 and Note10 to Android 10, with OnePlus, Sony, and Huawei all rolling out the update for their flagship devices as well.

 

Chances are, you are likely struggling to find what new features Android 10 brings to the table after updating your device to it. This is because the update does not really bring any major UI overhaul to the table. Instead, Android 10 is all about a number of small yet important features that greatly help in improving the overall user experience. These features might not seem like a big deal at first, but they can have a great impact on how you use your smartphone on a daily basis.

 

Below is a roundup of some of the top Android 10 features.

 

New Navigation Gestures

 

Google released Android 9.0 Pie with half-baked navigation gestures which were confusing and difficult to use. With Android 10, Google took inspiration from Apple and added a similar navigation gesture to the OS. The new gestures are far more straightforward and intuitive to use, and mark a major step up in terms of usability from the navigation bar as well as the half-baked gestures of Oreo.

 

Here's how the new navigation gestures in Android 10 work:

• Go Home: Swipe up from the bottom of the display
• Open Recent Apps View: Swipe up from the bottom and hold
• Go back: Swipe from the left/right edge
• Open Google Assistant: Swipe diagonally from the bottom left/right and hold

The only issue is that gesture navigation only works with the stock launcher on non-Pixel devices for now.

 

Granular Control Over Location Access

 

Android 10 marks a major step forward in how the OS handles app permissions and location management. It now provides users with an option to only grant location access to an app when it is in use. This way, you can rest assured knowing that an installed app is now shadily tracking you in the background.

Image Source: Android

Dark mode

 

After years of requests, Google has finally added a native Dark mode to Android. The new dark system theme has been very well done and it ties neatly with system and third-party apps as well. A simple flick of the switch and Dark mode will be enabled not just for the OS, but all your installed apps that feature a dark theme as well.

 

The feature currently lacks a scheduling option, though that's possibly coming in Android 11.

 

Faster Share Menu

 

The Share menu in Android 10 has received a major overhaul making it faster and smarter than before. The share menu now populates the list of installed apps and direct contacts more quickly than before. It will now also show a preview of any content before you share it.

 

Focus mode

 

Building on the Digital Wellbeing feature introduced in Android Oreo, Google has added a new Focus mode in Android 10 to block out all the noise and distractions. If you are getting distracted by an app and just want to focus on the work at hand, use Focus mode. You can use this mode to pause apps while you use your smartphone for other more important work. It is also a great feature to have if you want to get over your addiction to social media apps or games like PUBG.

 

 

Smart Reply

 

Google has made Android 10 smarter in how it handles notifications from messaging apps. Now, depending on the content of the message received, you will get an action relevant to it. For example, if your friend texts you "Hi," Smart Reply will show "Hi" as a suggested action. The best part is that the feature works with third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal as well.

 

Google Play System Updates

 

With every new release of Android, Google takes a major step forward in making the platform more secure and rolling out quick updates. In Android 10, Google is making it faster and easier to roll out security updates right via Google Play, the same way one installs app updates on their devices.

 

This method will presumably allow Google and OEMs to bypass carrier certification thereby making the entire process of rolling out security updates notably faster.

 

Live Caption

 

This is a major new accessibility feature in Android 10. Live Caption can automatically caption your pre-recorded videos, podcasts, and audio messages. The best part is that all these things happen locally without requiring Wi-Fi or cellular data.

 

New Emoji

 

Who does not like new emoji to better express themselves. Android 10 brings over 236 new emoji and also modifies the existing one to make them more expressive and gender-neutral. Below is an image from Emojipedia showing the new emoji in Android 10:

Image Source: Emojipedia

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There are plenty of other new features in Android 10 that we have not mentioned above including improved notification management, support for devices with foldable displays, improved privacy handling, Family Link, and more.

 

 

Source: The best Android 10 features to know about  (Neowin)