Android P as Fast As Possible
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2019-05-06
·
1,028 words · ~5 min read
0:00
Thanks for watching Techquickie.
0:01
Click the subscribe button, then enable notifications with the bell icon so you won't miss any
0:05
future videos.
0:07
So what's your favorite dessert that starts with the letter P?
0:11
Pecan pie?
0:12
Peppermint patty?
0:13
Pop tart?
0:14
Well, we don't know which one Google will pick for its newest mobile operating system
0:19
codenamed Android P, but we do know some of the features you'll be able to look forward
0:24
to once it hits the phone in your pocket, or the one you're looking to buy.
0:28
Let's start with one of the things you're likely to notice as soon as you pick up your
0:31
phone, notifications.
0:33
Android Oreo introduced the ability to reply to a message directly from its notification
0:38
instead of opening the app fully.
0:40
But P will take this one step further, showing images in line.
0:44
So if one of your friends is a narcissistic Instagrammer who keeps sending you photos
0:48
of his or her dinner, you can now feign excitement more quickly than ever.
0:52
And on the subject of images, you'll now, finally, also be able to draw and mark up
0:57
your screenshot.
0:58
If you want to call someone's attention to a certain part of the screencap.
1:02
And you also get an option to take one just by holding down the power button if you don't
1:06
like having to press down two buttons at once.
1:08
And certain apps can take better advantage of newer phones that have a dual camera setup,
1:12
enabling functionality like depth detection and more realistic AR experiences.
1:17
The visual related changes don't stop there either.
1:20
If you stumble upon text that's a little too small to read comfortably, there's now
1:23
an iOS-like lens zoom feature.
1:27
And there are a number of new features.
1:28
The new system animations and visual accents.
1:31
So you might notice a bit more color on items that could use it, like different sub-menus
1:35
in the settings app, but also a bit less in others.
1:39
Battery saver, for example, still shows an icon letting you know it's on, but it no
1:43
longer turns the top and bottom of your screen that distracting shade of red.
1:47
And Android P also features smarter adaptive brightness, now adjusting the backlight level
1:52
based on typical usage patterns, instead of relying solely on how dim your surroundings
1:57
are.
1:58
And speaking of battery saver, let's move on and talk a little bit more about what's
2:02
under the hood.
2:03
If you do like the power sipping mode, you can now configure it to kick in earlier if
2:07
your phone's battery isn't the greatest.
2:10
But you shouldn't be spending as much time waiting around for your battery draining tasks
2:13
to complete anyway, since the usual tweaks to the run time are present, with Google hoping
2:18
for fastest ever load times with minimal memory usage.
2:21
And while we're on the subject of making things quicker, let's talk about gestural navigation.
2:27
Gone is the triangle-circle-square paradigm that Android users have gotten used to.
2:32
Now Android P has a single home button that you can tap, hold, or swipe to bring up your
2:38
app drawer or recently used programs, similar to iOS, which Google was hoping will make
2:43
it easier for users to bring up frequently used or currently running apps.
2:47
And if you ever get curious just how long you use those apps for, Android P provides
2:51
a breakdown of app usage, and how many notifications each one sends you, allowing you to keep up
2:56
tabs on just how bad your addictions to Netflix and Snapchat really are.
3:01
Now onto something a little more exciting, Android P's indoor positioning feature.
3:06
This could come in handy the next time you're in a large indoor facility like a shopping
3:10
mall or an airport.
3:11
You see, the new Wi-Fi standard 802.11 MC will be able to measure the trip time of your
3:17
Wi-Fi signal to and from an access point, which lets it triangulate your position indoors.
3:23
It does require hardware support.
3:25
But with the right device, it could actually be used for a lot of other things.
3:26
So let's take a look.
3:26
And finally, we'd be a bit remiss if we didn't talk about a rather important security
3:52
tweak.
3:53
Android P no longer allows apps to access your camera or microphone in the background.
3:56
Now, although that's comforting news, it really makes me wonder what they may have
4:02
been watching or listening to up until now.
4:05
And it does nothing for the usual vast majority of Android users who will be left behind when
4:09
Android P rolls out sometime later this year.
4:12
Today's episode has been brought to you by iFixit.
4:14
You know, they really like to take stuff apart and teach people how to fix things.
4:17
They're also leading the charge in the electronics repair tools industry with their iconic black-and-blue
4:22
ProTek Toolkit, and it's now only $59.95.
4:26
It's a tool roll that makes it compact and easy to store.
4:29
It has a 64-bit driver kit with a wide variety of plastic opening tools, spudgers, and picks
4:34
to safely poke and pry with.
4:36
You get a suction cup with a fancy new handle to remove display assemblies, iFixit's own
4:41
rubber handle jimmy pry tool, and a set of metal spudgers, ESD-safe tweezers, and an
4:46
ESD-safe strap.
4:47
All iFixit tools are backed by iFixit's lifetime warranty.
4:51
You don't need to buy something to get iFixit's free repair resources, either.
4:54
You can check out 25,000 free repair resources.
4:56
If you want to get your hands on some hardware, just visit iFixit.com slash techquickie to
5:03
snag the fully-loaded ProTek Toolkit, now for only $59.95.
5:07
Okay guys, thanks for watching Techquickie.
5:09
Like it if you liked it, dislike it if you didn't.
5:11
Like if you think display notches are kind of dumb, leave a comment, let us know your
5:15
ideas for future videos, and don't forget to subscribe.