It’s right here! After months of testing and greater than somewhat teasing, Google formally took the wraps off its beefy Android 11 replace on Tuesday. The software program is already rolling out to Google’s personal Pixel telephones, as you’d anticipate, and must be making its technique to extra units earlier than lengthy. (Well, someday this century, anyway.)You’ve in all probability heard lots about Android 11’s most necessary additions and even its hidden gems by now — and if not, by golly, the ever-so-subtly included hyperlinks within the first a part of this sentence will get you caught up very quickly. (Funny how that works, is not it?) Now, although, it is time to flip our consideration to some purely sensible issues and suppose by particular steps it’s best to take with a view to benefit from what Android 11 has to supply.Why? Well, lemme inform ya why, you curious little chinchilla: With this replace particularly, a few of Google’s most fascinating and helpful new components require a teensy little bit of fine-tuning with a view to be totally efficient — and because the critical business-minded consumer you so clearly are, you clearly do not wish to dilly-dally in making these changes. The excellent news, although, is that it does not take lengthy to get your cellphone totally optimized and prepared. It’s simply as much as you to do it.So take into account this your street map to profiting from Android 11 and making your newly upgraded cellphone as environment friendly as doable — for enterprise use, for private use, and for another earthly objective your humble digital companion may serve.Android 11 adjustment no. 1: Enable notification reminiscenceOne of my favourite Android 11 options and one thing I’ve been longing to see for ages is a brand new native Notification History part. It’s just about precisely what you’d anticipate: Anytime you swipe a notification away by chance (and what clumsy-fingered doofus amongst us hasn’t executed that?!), you’ll be able to shortly jump over to a historical past web page and pull it again from the ether. Handy, no?There’s only one catch: For some purpose, Android 11’s Notification History possibility is not enabled mechanically by default. So until you are taking the time to show it on, it is not gonna be there once you want it.Thankfully, that tiny little downside could not be simpler to rectify: Just open up the Apps & Notification part of your system settings, faucet “Notifications,” then faucet “Notification History.” (If you are utilizing a cellphone the place the settings are introduced otherwise, with this or any subsequent directions on this story, strive looking your settings space as a substitute. That’ll get you to the identical place.)Now, see the toggle on the prime of that display?JR Flip that unhealthy boy on, and that is it: Anytime you’ve no less than one notification pending, you may see a brand new “History” possibility within the lower-left nook of your notification panel.JR Tap it, and you will be head to head with a whole checklist of each notification you have gotten over the previous 24 hours.JR Oddly, the choice does not present up when you don’t have any lively notifications — one thing that looks like a little bit of an oversight, should you ask me — however worry not, for you’ll be able to at all times get to it by going to that very same “Notification History” space of your system settings, if wanted.And talking of notifications…Android 11 adjustment no. 2: Embrace precedence notificationsAndroid 11 provides a brand new conversation-specific part into the notification panel, and a part of that features a new precedence dialog setting that you may apply to particular people or marsupials who message you.Once you mark somebody as being a precedence creature, their messages will at all times seem above all others inside your dialog part. Their profile photograph will present up as its personal separate icon inside your standing bar, too. And you may have the power to faucet a brand new icon inside their message notifications to pop your entire thread out into its personal floating window. At that time, the thread will seem on prime of no matter else you are doing and could be collapsed down right into a small round icon for straightforward ongoing entry.JR And this is not restricted solely to missives from Google’s personal Messages app, both, by the way in which. It works with any messaging app that is correctly coded to help it.So consider carefully about which of your associates and/or nemeses deserve precedence standing — a boss, an necessary consumer, a pet ferret, or regardless of the case could also be — and begin marking ’em accordingly. Just press and maintain your finger to the following notification that is available in from that contact, then faucet the “Priority” possibility and choose “Apply.”All that is left is to take a seat again, loosen up, and revel in your freshly added messaging effectivity.Android 11 adjustment no. 3: Improve the brand new media playerThis newest Android replace does away with the quite a few notification-based media gamers of Android variations previous and as a substitute offers you a single streamlined media participant for all audio and video performed out of your cellphone. No matter what app the sights and/or sounds come from, you may see controls in the identical stationary participant on the prime of your Quick Settings — and should you’ve had a number of apps taking part in media recently, you’ll transfer between ’em by swiping left or proper on that space.JR It’s helpful — however by default, the participant tends to stay round indefinitely and overstay its welcome. Even lengthy after you have stopped listening to one thing, you may see a participant for it in that totally expanded Quick Settings space of your cellphone. And oftentimes, it is tough or unattainable to dismiss.I do not find out about you, however that form of persistent litter drives me loopy. So here is the higher manner: Open up the Sound part of your system settings, faucet “Media,” after which activate the toggle subsequent to “Hide player when the media session has ended.” Then, when any given media session ends, its participant will mechanically go away by itself — leaving you with a tidier, much less clutter-filled area for taking good care of enterprise.Android 11 adjustment no. 4: Reveal the brand new display recorderAt lengthy final, Google has added a local display recorder into Android. (Hooray!) But once you first get the Android 11 improve, you may in all probability by no means even understand it is there. (Awww.)But wait! It’s extremely straightforward to seek out (hooray!) — and when you deliver it out of hiding, it will at all times be close by and ready so that you can use it (double-hooray!). Just open up your Quick Settings panel by swiping down twice from the highest of your display, then faucet the pencil-shaped icon within the lower-left nook of the display to edit its contents.Scroll down ’til you come to the inactive space of the lineup. See that shy little monkey hiding down there?JR Touch and maintain your finger to it and drag it as much as the lively space of your Quick Settings panel — after which, effectively, wouldya take a look at that?JR There it’s, prepared for tapping. (One extra time, collectively: Hooray!)Android 11 adjustment no. 5: Prune your permissionsAndroid 11 introduces the power to approve an app to entry your location, digicam, or microphone solely as soon as — on a restricted, one-time foundation. Smart, proper? Of course proper!But here is the catch: By the time you get the Android 11 improve, you may in all probability have already granted tons of apps full, unrestricted entry to those self same areas of your gadget — because the one-time-use possibility wasn’t round once you first put in and used ’em. So now’s the time to return by your present apps and take into consideration which really want that eternal entry and which might be higher off getting it solely on a extra restricted, as-needed foundation — after which to make any changes as wanted.It is not tough to do: Just head into the Privacy part of your system settings, faucet “Permission manager,” after which look carefully on the “Location,” “Camera,” and “Microphone” areas. When you encounter an app within the “Allowed” class for any of these areas that you just suppose could be higher suited to have entry granted solely as wanted, faucet its title and alter its setting to “Ask every time.”JR Android 11 will at all times immediate you to make the choice on the fly for any new permission requests that come up for location, digicam, or microphone entry, however this preliminary audit of already-granted permissions is as much as you to make.Android 11 adjustment no. 6: Optimize your new energy menuPressing and holding your cellphone’s energy button in Android 11 pulls up an entire new menu of smart-device controls — every little thing from internet-connected lights and thermostats in your house workplace to cameras in your own home that you just examine in on through the day. By default, although, it is in all probability gonna be a bit messy and something however optimized on your wants.So press and maintain your energy button for a sec after which see what you have received happening there. If you see any tiles you wish to take away — or any lacking ones you need so as to add in — faucet the three-dot menu icon within the upper-right space of the display and choose both “Add controls” or “Edit controls.”And should you discover the outsized presence of your Google-Pay-connected bank card on that display to be an annoying waste of area — which it typically is, should you ask me, until you retain a number of bank cards related to that system and have to flip by ’em recurrently — head into the System part of your system settings, faucet “Gestures,” after which faucet “Power menu” adopted by “Cards & passes” and switch the toggle on that display into the off place.JR Ahh — a lot better, would not ya say?Android 11 adjustment no. 7: Automate your darknessLast however not least is a refined adjustment however an necessary one. Android 10, y’see, introduced us a brand new swap for activating a system-wide darkish mode. It’s a beautiful choice to have, particularly once you’re gazing your display in dim environments resembling darkened places of work or empty zoo enclosures. But until you simply actually love having a darkish motif activated always of day and evening, it requires you to recollect to flip the factor on and off as wanted — and in case your mind is something like mine, that is in all probability one thing you fail to do most of the time.Well, Android 11 addresses that little oversight with a welcome new darkish mode scheduling possibility. Just prance into the Display part of your system settings, faucet “Dark Theme” after which faucet “Schedule.” And lookie what we’ve got right here…JR You can set your system darkish mode to show itself on and off mechanically with the sundown and dawn or go for a particular time-based schedule to activate and deactivate it, should you’d reasonably.If you actually wish to make your cellphone optimized on your eyes, go to the “Night Light” part of that very same space of your settings subsequent and set it to comply with the identical schedule. That’ll put your show right into a tinted and darkened state through the night hours and again right into a brighter, lighter motif through the day, with none ongoing thought or motion.Maximum effectiveness with minimal effort — it does not get a lot better than that.Sign up for my weekly e-newsletter to get extra sensible ideas, private suggestions, and plain-English perspective on the information that issues.[Android Intelligence videos at Computerworld]
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