Google has released a beta version of the next edition of Android, allowing developers and enthusiasts to test-drive its new features. Currently the update is known simply as Android P, although when it’s finally released you can bet it will get some sort of confectionary codename; my money’s on Peanut Butter.
Notably, where Google has in the past only supplied preview code for its own-brand Nexus and Pixel phones, the new beta supports a range of handsets from eight different manufacturers (I’ve been trying it out on a Nokia 7 Plus). That’s thanks to Project Treble – an under-the-bonnet redesign introduced in Android 8 Oreo that makes it easier to install new versions of the operating system on a diverse range of hardware.
We don’t recommend that you try the Android P beta on your personal handset, however. It’s not perfectly stable, the new features aren’t all in place yet, and it lacks the security certifications needed to run apps such as Netflix and Google Pay.
Still, it looks hopeful that many (perhaps even most) recent devices should be able to upgrade to Android P fairly soon after it launches. If you want to know what you’ll be getting, read on.
Android P Beta review: New homescreen and navigation gestures
Let’s get the anti-climax out of the way: there’s no big killer feature in Android P – nothing that really transforms what Android can do. What we’re mostly looking at is a bundle of interface enhancements.
You’ll start to notice changes as soon as you land on the home screen; for one, the clock has moved from the right to the left of the status bar. This requires a bit of eye retraining at first, and it doesn’t seem any more logical than the old location, but I dare say there’s a good reason for it.
You’ll also spot a change at the bottom of the screen. The square Overview button is gone, replaced by a new multitasking gesture built into the Home button. To switch to the last-used app you now simply drag the Home icon to the right edge of the screen. And if the app that pops up isn’t the one you wanted? Just keep your finger held down to cycle through your other open apps.
To reflect its new lateral function, the Home icon itself has changed from a circle to a horizontal lozenge shape. This is a little misleading, though, as you can also swipe it upwards to open a parade of tappable app thumbnails.
In honesty, if you frequently hop back and forth between apps then I’d say the new gestures are slightly more fiddly than the old way of doing things. It doesn’t help that, if you’re on the homescreen, you have to be careful not to drag your finger more than halfway up the display, or you’ll end up opening the app drawer instead. Still, I got the hang of it after a day or two, and if you really don’t like the gestures then you can – in this release, at least – flip a switch to bring back the old Overview button.
Android P Beta review: Clearing up annoyances
Android has its strengths, but it also has some irritating quirks. For example, there’s the way that the volume buttons default to changing your ringer volume when there’s no app playing sound, even though nine times out of ten what you actually want to do is set the volume before you launch the app.
I’m delighted to report that Android P fixes this: the volume buttons now always change app volume by default, while also bringing up a separate ringer icon, which you can tap to instantly silence the ringer or activate vibrate-only mode. You can also now place the phone face-down on a flat surface to silence it entirely; a feature previously available on selected phones, but now properly plumbed into the OS.
There’s more good news if you’ve ever found that Android sometimes unwantedly rotates the screen when your phone’s sitting on a desk or sofa. In Android P, automatic rotation is still an option, but you can also choose to have a discreet orientation icon appear in the corner of the screen when the phone thinks it’s been rotated. You can tap it to rotate the display, or ignore it to remain as you were.
Then there’s the fiddly business of dragging the cursor around with a fat finger when editing text. Android P improves matters here too with a new magnifier, which automatically opens above the text selection tool. Instantly it becomes far easier to see and make accurate selections.
One enhancement that I particularly appreciated while putting together this review is a streamlined screenshot workflow. In previous releases of Android, sharing screenies was a clunky multi-step process. Now, you can simply squeeze the Power button for a moment, tap the new “Screenshot” button, then tap again to share, edit or delete the image. The Google Assistant also gains a new “Share screenshot” link, for those you prefer to take that route.
Finally, there’s a clever upgrade to Android’s adaptive brightness feature. In the past, I’ve often noticed that the software doesn’t always get its adjustments quite right, so you end up having to tweak the brightness by hand when you move between bright and dark locations. Android P automatically learns from your tweaks, so after you’ve corrected it once or twice it should get much better at setting more appropriate levels.
Android P Beta review: Coming in future builds
Not everything that’s been announced for Android P is available to try right now. Some features are being held over for the next developer preview release, which ought to be with us by mid-June.
This includes the new Adaptive Battery feature, which draws on AI techniques to work out which apps you care about most, and throttles the rest so they use as little power as possible. I’m reserving judgment on this one – these bright ideas often end up shaving just a few percent from real-world power consumption – but I’m looking forward to trying it out.
Another forthcoming bit of intelligence is promised in the form of App Actions, whereby Android P will try to guess when you’re likely to want to open a particular app, and pre-emptively pop up a shortcut. Connect a pair of headphones, for example, and it should offer you your favoured music player. If it’s handled well, this could make the everyday Android experience a whole lot smoother.
One last thing to look forward to is the new Dashboard. Intriguingly, this is aimed at encouraging you to have a healthier relationship with your phone, by tracking how many times you've unlocked your phone today, how much time you're spending in certain apps, how many notifications you've received and so forth. You can also set time limits on your usage of particular apps, to discourage you from sitting up late into the night arguing on Reddit, or whatever your personal bad habit might be.
Android P Beta review: Early verdict
Like many Android users, I’ve become so accustomed to the interface over the years that I no longer really notice its foibles. But now I’ve spent a few days with Android P, the previous version feels decidedly clunky by comparison.
That might sound like an exaggeration, but it’s surprising how clearing up those minor pain points really does make the whole experience feel smoother and more effortless. To be sure, Android’s fundamental personality is unchanged, but dare I say that it’s never felt more Apple-like?
My only concern is the new gesture-based app-switcher. I got the hang of it quickly enough, but there’s no instinctive logic to it, and it doesn’t seem any smarter than the old Overview button. This is the thing I’ll be looking at most closely when the next update comes along next month; if Google can make it feel breezy and natural, then that will be wonderful; right now it’s a discordant duff note in what’s shaping up to be a very slick update.
