Google intros Android Q Beta

Google has introduced Android Q Beta with additional privacy and security features for users and enhancements for foldable devices.

Google implemented more security and privacy enhancements in Android Q to protect users. Many of these enhancements are part of Google’s Project Strobe announced in October 2018.

Some of the new features include more control over when apps can get a location. For example, an app asking for a user’s location for food delivery makes sense, and the user may want to grant it the ability to do that. But since the app may not need location outside of when it’s currently in use, the user may not want to grant that access.

When it comes to privacy, users have more control as well. Users will be able to control apps’ access to the Photos and Videos or the Audio collections via new runtime permissions. For Downloads, apps must use the system file picker, which allows the user to decide which Download files the app can access.

Android Q also comes with enhancements that take advantage of foldable screens so that apps are correctly displayed.

There are other features found on Android Q but mostly for the developer level. You can read more about it here.

Google is releasing Beta 1 of Android Q for early adopters and a preview SDK for developers. If you have Pixel devices (including the original Pixel and Pixel XL), you can try Beta 1 by enrolling here. More details about Android Q will be revealed at Google I/O in May.