Android Q will give you more control over when an app can use your location
"Android Q enables users to give apps permission to see their location never, only when the app is in use (running), or all the time (when in the background)," Google said in its blog post.
Anyone who has used an iPhone recently will recognize this option, and it's finally coming to Android. On current versions of Android, you only have the option to turn location services on or off.
Android Q will support foldable smartphone designs for apps and Android itself.
Indeed, foldable smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X will soon become available to buy starting this spring, and they'll need an operating system that supports a foldable display.
Android Q will show you settings that are relevant for the app you're using.
Android Q will show you a quick and light Settings Panel over an app that shows you the phone settings that are relevant for the app you're using rather than scrolling and sifting through an Android phone's entire Settings menu.
One of Google's examples is with Chrome, where a setting panel will only show you WiFi, mobile data, airplane mode, and other relevant phone settings that work with Chrome.
WiFi will be better for certain apps, like games and video calls.
Android Q will have adaptive WiFi, which will adjust the WiFi settings depending on the apps you're using.
With video chat and voice-over-IP apps (VoIP) like Google Voice or WhatsApp, adaptive WiFi can reduce latency for a more responsive conversation that's closer to a regular phone call. It could also reduce latency for online multiplayer games like "Fortnite."
Adaptive WiFi could also adjust WiFi performance for heavier duty apps, like video streaming.
Android Q will let apps take photos with portrait mode.
Android Q will give app developers access to the Dynamic Depth image that camera apps use for portrait mode shots. That means you wouldn't specifically need to use your Android phone's default camera app for portrait mode shots with blurry background effects — you could use your favorite photo app.
Video streaming could be faster and use less data on Android Q, and it'll support HDR10+ videos, too.
Android Q will support a video streaming format called AV1 that uses 30% to 40% less data than current formats, making the video easier and faster for your phone to load and stream as a result.
AV1 supposedly matches the visual quality of current video streaming formats, and it'll be used by a good chunk of the biggest video streaming services out there, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Facebook.
Apps on Android Q will start faster and use less memory.
Google continues to make Android more efficient and streamlined, and it'll help apps start up faster and use less memory. The company said that app developers don't need to do anything to get those benefits, as it'll be built into the Android Q operating system.
There's no telling when Android Q will be rolled out, but you can start using the Android Q beta now.
Google makes it easier to try out the Android Q update for those with Pixel devices, including the original Pixel, Pixel 2, and Pixel 3 generations. Otherwise, you could run an Android emulator if you don't have a Pixel phone.
Either way, it's probably not worth upgrading to the beta version of Android Q right this second, as updates and features won't be fully fleshed out yet, and you'll likely face bugs that will affect how you use your phone on a day-to-day basis.
