The major features in Android 11
- Conversations: The notification shade now breaks out messages from your texting apps into their own section at the top
- Priority conversations: You can mark certain conversations as “priority,” which puts the sender’s avatar on your lock screen and optionally allows you to let them break through your Do Not Disturb settings
- Bubbles: You can have your texting threads pop out into a little bubble that floats over your other apps. It works just like Chat Heads for Facebook Messenger, but it’s now available to any texting app.
- Notifications have simpler, easier-to-understand presets for “Alerting notifications” and “Silent notifications” and allow you more control over how those presets work
- Do Not Disturb lets you customize which apps or people are allowed to notify you when the mode is on
- Media controls have been moved up into quick settings, and you can select where your audio output goes nowScreenshots now appear on the lower-left corner, just like they do on the iPhone
- Native screen recording should finally become an official, Android-level feature
- The power menu now serves as a kind of digital wallet, with controls for powering your phone, Google Pay cards and passes, and now smart home control
- There’s a new one-time permission option for location
- If you don’t use an app for a while, its permissions reset automatically
- Voice Access, the accessibility feature that allows you to control your phone by speaking, has been upgraded and can now understand “screen content and context, and generates labels and access points for accessibility commands.”
