Everything You Need to Know About Android 10

Whenever Google updates the Android operating system to a new major version this is a big event that brings with it many new features and upgrades to your handset. So it is important to understand what is going and when you will see these changes on your mobile device. We take a look at what you need to know.

When Will I Get It?

Android 10, also known as Android Q as Google has ditched the dessert naming convention has now been officially released. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can go out and get it today. When it comes to Android updates it is down to your manufacturer to release a version of Android Q for your particular handset. This might mean your particular handset won’t see Android Q until next year. That being said if you have a Google Pixel phone then you will get the update straight away as is the Google promise. Other manufacturers will release slowly, but the OnePlus 7T and 7T Plus have already had updates released.

Dark Times 

So what features do you get in the new Android update? The biggest feature and the one that everyone is talking about is Dark Mode. Dark Mode is fast becoming all the rage on modern mobile phones and what it effectively does is reverse the standard colouring on the menus. So instead of white menus with black text, you get black menus with white text. Whilst this change may seem mostly cosmetic it has one major benefit for users who have phones with OLED screens. On an OLED screen, any part that is not lit up is not consuming battery. This means that if the majority of your screen is black then you are consuming a lot less battery. This means that dark mode provides a major boost for users of OLED screened phones.

Other Features

In among the other features that include the usual security and privacy updates there are a few other standout features. Google’s Smart Reply technology that you may have seen if you use Gmail is now being included as standard on Android Q. This technology analyses your common responses and uses machine learning to pre-compose replies to messages. If you want to accept the reply you can just swipe to use it instead of having to type it. Another key feature that you will notice is the ‘Bubbles UI’ this is something you might be familiar with if you have used Facebook messenger. Well, Google is adding support for this type of functionality natively in Android Q. This means that you can expect several other apps to begin using similar features. Hangouts and Messages will already be updated to take advantage of it. The other big feature is a more under the covers one and that is support for folding phones. This technology will enable devices like the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X to be rolled out more easily and will open the door for other manufacturers.