Android 11's first beta has been accidentally sent out to certain Pixel 4 owners. Since Google has cancelled this week's beta reveal event, this is our first look at some of the operating system's newest features.
We know this from a tweet by XDA Developers' Mishaal Raman (via The Verge), who revealed that he had received two messages from Google Pixel 4 XL users saying that they had been sent the beta for Android 11 early.
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The beta has revealed some of Google's changes to the new version of its mobile operating system, which Raman has been posting on Twitter as he finds them. One of these is a new power button menu that offers a larger range of options, such as payment cards, controls for smart home devices and other important settings when you hold down the on/off button.
This is the new "power menu" settings in Android 11. This will control the cards & passes and Controls feature that I tweeted about earlier today. pic.twitter.com/EdHNpXmwiRJune 1, 2020
Google's also added a new media player widget within the Quick Settings bar at the top of the notification shade. Similar to the one found in iOS 13's Control Center, it allows you to play, pause and skip tracks, or open the media app directly from the shade.
Remember the wild media player in Quick Settings experiment we found in DP1? https://t.co/s01QQNmdYv It's live in Beta 1 as a Developer Option called "media resumption." pic.twitter.com/CKlbG7wYNhJune 1, 2020
Then there's an option to toggle 'bubble' notifications for different apps, allowing your chat windows to open over the top of any other app for easy replies. Raman also showed off the new app suggestion system for the bottom dock based on which apps you use most frequently.
Onboarding/tutorial messages for the feature. pic.twitter.com/GS2K7gzizPJune 1, 2020
There are also three new shapes for app icons, named Vessel, TaperedRect and Pebble.
Screenshots of these 3 icon shapes pic.twitter.com/lU4kDkOZcVJune 1, 2020
We were expecting to see Google show off the newest version of Android at a June 3 event, but this showcase has been delayed. It's likely due to the current protests happening around the US in response to the death of George Floyd, based on a tweet from the official Android Developers Twitter account saying "now is not the time to celebrate."
Sony has also postponed its June 4 PS5 event for similar reasons. There's currently no word on when Google will host the rescheduled event.
