Android 11 is live: How to use priority conversations, screen recording and other new features right away

Google’s Android 11 update is still running. Some of the first phones to get the latest mobile operating system are Google’s own. Pixels And select devices from OnePlus, Oppo, Xiaomi and Nokia. The update will reach more phones in the coming weeks and months.

Whenever you get Android 11, you go for a treat. There are subtle twists throughout the OS that make a big change in the way you use your phone every day. For example, there is a new Bubbles Chat feature that makes it easy to place messaging from any app. My personal favorite is the new Quick Control page to access my smart home devices with a swipe, and a new screen-recording tool to help show off your favorite gameplay or troubleshoot a problem.

I walk you through six of my favorite Android 11 features and how to use them.

Android 11 Quick Control is a true attraction

The first thing you should do after installing Android 11 is to long press the power button on your phone to get a new quick control screen. On Pixels, At least, this screen gives you the power control option at the top and provides shortcuts for you Google Pay Card And boarding pass. After that below you will find my favorite feature of Android 11 – Quick Control for Smart Home Devices.

My phone automatically selected some devices that I connected to Google Assistant, such as Nest thermostat In my office and mine Nest video bell. I too can watch a livestream directly from my door on this screen without opening the Nest app, which is slow and a pain to use. This is very good.

You can add or remove a smart home device from this grid by tapping the menu button and choosing Add or Edit Control.

New message notifications get limelight

After installing Android 11, you will now see that all your messaging apps, such as Google Messages, have a dedicated “Conversation” section in the notification tray.

Changes make it easier to find the alerts you care about the most, but even if you receive a lot of messages, this section can get messed up.

Instead of letting Google sort your own new alerts, long-press the conversation you want to choose closely Priority. Doing this will put new messages in that thread at the top of all your conversation alerts, turn bubbles (down on it), and use the contact avatar as an alert icon in the contact tray and on the lock screen.

Being able to keep an eye on the information tray and view the profile icon, rather than a standard text alert that doesn’t actually provide valuable information, is a nice touch.

Messaging bubbles to your friends look like they would be useful

Remember Bubbles? The feature was supposed to be part of Android 10, but Google pulled it off at the last minute. It made the cut for Android 11.

The bubbles are similar to the “chat heads” feature of Facebook Messenger. When activated, a small avatar – or bubble – appears on your screen and does not matter which app you’re using. Tap on the avatar and it will open a small window for you to read and send new messages in that thread, without having to open the application completely. You can drag the bubble around your screen, or to the bottom of the screen to remove it.

To use bubbles for a conversation, tap on the small bubbles icon in the lower right corner of the notification. Tapping on it will immediately enable bubbles for that thread. Alternatively, you can always mark a conversation as a priority for that contact to always use bubbles.

You can then drag the icon for your various chat bubbles around your screen, or tap on the avatar for the person you want to talk to, and the thread will open, without ever leaving the app you want Currently using. I’m glad it’s an opt-in feature based on each thread, rather than an all-around-nothing feature like chat heads, which can be messy and downright overwhelming.

To get rid of a bubble for a specific conversation, simply drag the icon to the smaller X Which shows at the bottom of your screen.

If you want to disable the bubble entirely, open the Settings app and search for the bubble, preventing any and all apps from triggering the potentially annoying feature. There will be a setting to completely close the bubble.

App developers will need to update their app to work with Bubbles, and right now I can confirm that Google’s message apps work. Facebook Messenger worked throughout the Android 11 beta program, but a few days before Android 11 launched it seems to have broken or disabled this integration. If you are having trouble getting bubbles to work, I recommend reaching out to the developer and seeing if they plan to add support for the bubble.

Hardcore music control is available in android 11

In Android 11, there is a new playback control that no longer appears as a pending notification. Instead, there is a small box that appears as part of the Quick Settings panel. You can leave the device playing music from the new control box, go back, play-pause, and switch.

New media controls will be available as soon as you start playing some music. They are much better than the old notifications.

A built-in screen recorder

Screenshots are a quick and easy way to capture something on your screen, but there are times when a recording is better for handheld work. For example, if you want to show off your gaming skills, or take steps to reproduce a bug-screen recording FTW!

You can find the screen record tool in Fast settings Panel after installing Android 11. If it is not visible, tap on the pencil icon to add it to your panel.

Tap on screen record Icon and choose whether you want your microphone to record audio and if you want your touch interaction to be highlighted in the video. To stop recording, tap screen record Notification. The video will be saved in your camera roll where you can edit and share the recording.

For Pixel Owners: App suggestions change your app dock

At some point after installing Android 11, you will see a prompt to enable App Suggestion on the home screen. Essentially, the new app suggestion will replace the app dock on your phone, leaving it on your phone to swap apps in the bottom line – or dock – on your phone, depending on which time you use. Of the day.

The application has a glow border around them, letting you know that your phone is paired to them, and often return to your home screen when you use your phone. You can long press on any app icon to pin that suggestion on your home screen.

If you don’t want anything like Gmail, you can also prevent apps from showing up as suggestions because you use a different email app.

How it works and long press on your home screen to access app suggestions and tailors Home settings Again suggestion. There you can stop suggestions from showing up in the app drawer and on the home screen or from showing the app in the list.

Google also made some Important changes to how Android handles privacy settings You should know, as well. If you are looking for instructions for installing Android 11, You have your back.

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Android 11: What’s New in Public Beta

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