Android Pie: Google adds Digital Wellbeing controls

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Media captionWATCH: Android's Andrei Popescu shows off greyscale mode and other new features

Android Pie - Google's latest version of its mobile operating system - has been released.




According to its own figures, only about 12% of in-use Android devices were running the previous version - Oreo - as of a fortnight ago.



Why Pie?


Image copyright Google
Image caption Google says other manufacturers should release updates to Android Pie in the autumn



But the chief of Android's London engineering team explained that there had been a deliberate decision to keep things simple.

"It hints at the same goals we have with Android in general," said Andrei Popescu.


"And I think that kind of resonates with a very simple and beautiful name like Pie."

Will it really make me use my phone less ?

Image copyright Google

One of the new software's headline features is its new Digital Wellbeing controls.

These are in part a response to criticism that smart devices can be "addictive" and disruptive to our sleep patterns.


Timers can then be set to limit usage of specific programs.

When the limit nears, users get a warning - and when it is reached the app's icon becomes greyed out to prevent it from launching. The lockout can, however, be overridden.

Image copyright Google
Image caption The Dashboard provides owners several ways to visualise their device use


At a pre-selected time, the screen switches from colour to greyscale - meaning all imagery is seen in shades of grey. In addition, the Do Not Disturb mode is activated, silencing incoming calls and alerts.



"These are good measures, but there are still going to be a lot of people who don't think they have a problem," said Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, author of Fast Asleep, Wide Awake.


How have notifications been improved?

Pie adds images to the alerts - showing both a small picture of the person who contacted the recipient, when relevant, as well as previews of any photos or other media they may have shared.

Image caption More than 140,00 people volunteered to test the beta versions of Android Pie before its official release



How has Google boosted battery life?



Many CPU (central processing unit) chips now feature "big-little" architecture, whereby some processor cores prioritise speed while others focus on being more power-efficient.

Image copyright Google
Image caption The Adaptive Battery function uses machine learning to decide when apps can carry out background tasks

Android Pie now schedules many of its background processes to run on the more efficient "little" cores in order to consume less power.

The second approach involves trying to prevent what Google describes as "bad battery days".

To do this, the system studies an owner's behaviour in order to anticipate when they will want to use certain apps.



What else is new?

Image copyright Gogle
Image caption Slices lets users use apps without having to open them

The other biggest innovation is Slices, which brings parts of an app's user interface to the fore without requiring the owner to open the program.

For example, entering a taxi app's name into the search bar might bring up information about how far away the service's nearest car is and how long it would take to get the user home.


Image copyright Google
Image caption App Actions try to predict what the user will want to do next

Other innovations that will be offered at launch include:

  • App Actions - an anticipatory function that tries to determine what task the user will want their phone to do next - such as to call a specific contact, show selected notes or play a favourite album. The device then presents a couple of these suggestions near the top of its screen so they can be achieved with a single tap
  • new gesture controls to make it easier to switch between apps

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