Notches as Iphone X (Something Weird)
Yeah, Finally!! Android P will have the notch cutout. The developer preview has an option in the Display setting under Device Theme that brings up notch options like narrow display cutout, tall display cutout and wide display cutout that accordingly adds a notch on the top of the display. The shape of the notch can vary from as wide as the iPhone X to as small as the Essential Phone. This is meant to allow app developers to develop their apps accordingly based on the different styles of notches.
The new notification panel
One of the biggest change that is coming with the Android P is to the Quick Settings Menu. The Quick Settings Menu is receiving a fresh coat of paint with an emphasis on rounded icons with the solid white background. Also, instead of showing paginated views, not the menu supports vertical scrolling.
Changes to Do Not Disturb Mode
Google has simplified the “Do not disturb mode” with Android P as it has taken away the option to choose between Priority only, Alarms only, and Total Silence mode. Now you get no option and enabling the mode will activate the full Do not disturb mode (Total Silence). That said, users who want to just mute calls and not Alarms can do that by going to the Volume Menu introduced with Android P.
Changes to App Info
Google is also pushing some minor changes the App Info section of the Settings app. Firstly, The Force Stop button has been moved to the 3-dot menu present at the top right of the page. Also, information such as battery usage, data usage, and more has now been hidden inside new Advanced menu.
Connect up to 5 Bluetooth Devices
On Android Oreo, the maximum number of Bluetooth devices that you could connect was two. With Android P, Google has increased the number of devices to five, which means that most of us will be able to connect all our Bluetooth devices at once. You will have to enable the developer mode to access this feature. While you are there, you can find many other options related to Bluetooth including the ability to change audio rate sample, audio channel mode, and more.
Easily Switch Between Landscape and Portrait Orientation
With the new Android P update, users will also be able to easily switch between landscape and portrait orientation without having to turn on the rotation toggle. In Android P, when you change the phone’s orientation, a little toggle comes up which allows you to switch between the landscape and portrait orientation.
Changes to Battery Saver Modes
Apart from the removal of orange color from the notification bar, the battery saver mode on Android P is bringing some more changes. Firstly, now you can schedule the battery saver mode to turn on from anywhere between 5% and 70% battery. Previously a user could only schedule the battery saver mode to kick between 5% and 15%. The second change is the removal of the per-app breakdown of battery usage data, which frankly is a not a welcome change.
Volume Keys Get the Software Upgrade
Just like Power Menu, Android P is bringing a Volume Menu which can be accessed by hitting the volume rockers. The new Volume Menu gives you access to easy shortcuts such as media control and the ability to mute the phone. The menu is not only useful, it also looks really nice.
Power Menu Now Offers More Functionalities
With Android Oreo, Google introduced a nifty new slide-out Power Menu which was triggered by long-pressing the power button. With Android P Google is introducing two more toggles to the Power Menu on top of the already existing Restart and Power off toggles.
Always On Display and Lock Screen Improvements
Android P is also bringing a few changes to the lock screen and always on display feature of Android. Now, the pattern lock on the lock screen starts fading as a user is tracing it. Also, the always on display will show battery status at the bottom which is a very nice addition.
Redesigned Settings Page
Apart from the Quick Settings Panel, the other UI element which is receiving a major cosmetic improvement is the main Settings page. The new Settings page gets a more organized interface, adds colors for different settings menu to make them more identifiable, and brings a rounded search bar at the top.
Multi-Camera API
Android P will finally allow developers to take benefit of multiple camera hardware present on the smartphones as it brings the new multi-camera API. The new API will help developers access data from all the cameras present on a smartphone without any problem. The obvious use that comes to mind is the use of both front and back camera simultaneously to get multiple frames of reference. That said, we will have to wait and see as to how developers take benefit of this API.
Inline Images and Smart Replies in Notification
Android P brings one of the most requested features on Android which is the ability to see past few messages in notification to make it easier for users to get a context of the conversation. Android P also supports inline images and stickers inside a notification and brings the smart replies feature natively to Android.
Although Android P is not bringing many UI changes, there are a number of under the hood changes which has us excited.
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