Android P DP1 Released With Support For Notch, Privacy Enhancements, Multi-Camera API & More

Google will be releasing Android P later this year and to give developers a head-start for making their apps compatible with the upcoming version of Android, Google has released the developer previews of Android P. Beta builds of Android P are available for four devices - Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

Below is a quick rundown of the features Android P brings to the table:

Display Cutout/Notch support 

Smartphone makers have lately been trying to push the boundaries of the screen to body ratio. This is primarily being done to give the consumer a larger screen size in a compact form factor. To accommodate more screen space, smartphone manufacturers have trimmed the bezels to the minimum. The bezels have been cut down to such an extent that smartphone makers are taking up different approaches to accommodate the earpiece and selfie camera. One of the approaches is to cut a small portion of the display and include the earpiece and front facing camera in the created space. The Essential PH-1 was one of the first smartphones to feature a notch for the selfie camera. Later on Apple popularized the notch design with the iPhone X. In the recently concluded MWC 2018, we saw ASUS launch the ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 5Z with a notch blindly copied similar to that of the iPhone. 

Since a company with as big as resources as Apple decided to go for the notch, Google expects the notch to become a trend in coming Android smartphones. These smartphones will likely be launched over the course of next year or two, and they will possibly be launched with Android P. To make it easier for developers and smartphone makers to adapt to the notch, Google has included several software optimizations for display cutouts in Android P. Developers can use the new APIs in Android P to expand their content around the notch or make it reach up to the notch and not beyond it.

Multi-Camera API

As the name suggests, this new API is for devices with multiple lenses. Using the multi-camera API, developers will be able to get streams from all the camera lenses simultaneously. There is also support for display based flash for the selfies and 'OIS timestamps' for app level image stabilization.

Improvements for Messaging apps 

With Android P, messaging apps can highlight the name of the sender, show full length conversations with stickers and images and even suggest smart replies.

Indoor positioning

Android P aims at making the indoor location more accurate. To accomplish this, Google is making use of the WiFi RTT protocol which will let apps measure the distance of the device from a nearby access point within an accuracy of one-two meters.

Enhancements to images and video

With Android P, Google has introduced new APIs which will provide better decoding, scaling and post-processing for images along with support for animated images. HDR VP9 Profile 2 will let apps deliver HDR-enabled movies and video content on HDR-capable devices. HIEF image encoding will enhance image compression, thereby reducing the stress on storage.

Improvements to data utilization

In developing markets (such as that of India), people are cautious on how they spend their limited data packs. In Nougat, Google introduced the Data Saver mode to limit apps from accessing data connection in the background. Last year Google launched Datally which provided users with analytics on how much data is being consumed and users could also restrict apps from accessing the data connection. Android P has several in-built optimizations for data consumption. For example, Android P will automatically use unmetered data connections when large data exchanges have to be performed. For this to work, it's required that the carriers specify whether the connection being utilized by the user is unmetered or not.

Privacy

This is probably the most wanted change in Android. Android P will restrict all idle apps from accessing the camera and mic. This means that no background app can spy on you. Only the apps which are being used by the device owner will be granted access to the camera and microphone.

Restrictions

In addition to the above mentioned privacy security measures, Google will be imposing two more restrictions on developers with Android P. Firstly, access to non-public APIs will be restricted gradually. App developers will have to mitigate to public APIs to meet their needs. Google is also open to requests from developers to support more APIs. Secondly, from November 2018 onward, all the app updates should target API 26 (Android Oreo 8.0) and higher. In this developer preview, the Play Store will display a warning when the user attempts to install an application which targets an API lower than level 17 (Android Jellybean 4.2).

Miscellaneous

Android P consists of the Open Mobile API for facilitating NFC payments and secure transactions. With the Open Mobile API, apps will be able to access secure elements and enable smart card payments. 

Then there is the Neural Networks API 1.1 which is aimed at accelerating on-device machine learning in Android. Android P also lets apps invoke security check mechanisms (like fingerprint authentication) to carry out secure operations.

Lastly, there are improvements to ART to bolster performance, optimizations for Kotlin and Autofill, and better battery life via enhancements made to Doze, App Standby and Background Process Limits.

Download & Installation

As mentioned before, these are developer previews and are intended for use only by developers. As of now, this build can't be installed via the Android Beta program. If you wish to install Android P, you would have to unlock the bootloader and then perform a flash.  The download links and installation instructions can be found here. Once again, this beta build of Android P can only be installed on the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

Source: Android Developers

[All images sourced from Android Developers]

Krittin Kalra

Krittin Kalra is a 20 year old Android freak. Striving for passions, chasing down his dreams and living a life without regrets is his sole mantra. A bit moody, he also does custom ROM reviews for AndroGuider. Currently pursuing his B.Tech, he aspires to follow his heart.