The Coolest Android L Features Google Didn't Announce

• 30 June 2014
• by: Bruno Bandeira
• in: Android,Google
• Tags: Android, bacanas, Google, mais, nso, recursos
• note: no comments

Android L was made available this week as a preview, and its final version should arrive on smartphones and tablets at the end of the year. There are a lot of cool new features, but after playing around with the developer version, we discovered a bunch of cool stuff that Google didn't mention in the I/O event keynote – here's the list.

Disclaimer: This is a developer preview of Android L and as such may change until it's released. There may be even more features that we haven't found yet, while others may be removed or modified in the future when it reaches the general public.

It is also worth remembering: some features of Android L are already present in skins from manufacturers, or in third-party apps; but here we are talking about features that, from now on, can reach all users of the next Android, without additional installations or without being restricted to one manufacturer.

“Do Not Disturb” Mode Mutes Notifications

So far, standard Android can't block all notifications if you need some peace and quiet. This changes with Android L: open the quick settings panel in the notifications area, and you will see a Notifications button. Here, you can activate a Do Not Disturb mode. Set the silence period for a certain amount of time, or turn off all notifications until you turn them on again later. And yes, it is possible to release calls from important contacts (starred), for example.

“Adaptive Brightness” is the smartest auto-brightness

Auto-brightness is a feature that works well for some, and terribly poorly for others. In previous versions, you can manually set the brightness level, or set it to “auto” and give control to the smartphone. Obviously, this is less than ideal.

In Android L, Google introduced a new feature called Adaptive Brightness that combines manual and automatic brightness. You can manually adjust the brightness to whatever level you want. Afterwards, the screen will adjust itself based on the ambient light so that it is at the same brightness with the light around it. In this way, you can configure the brightness without depending on an absolute level.

Android Beam just got (a little) easier to use

Android Beam has always been one of the functions that sounded much better on paper than they worked in practice. You need to open the file/contact to share, touch both devices, and touch and hold the screen until the connection is established.

On Android L, you can initiate an Android Beam transfer via the Share menu. This prepares you to share a file; then just tap the two devices to complete the connection. This drastically reduces the time needed to keep the two devices together. It's not perfect, but now it could actually be a feature that many will use.

Swipe to access dialer from lock screen

In earlier versions of Android, you can swipe right on the lock screen to quickly open the camera app. Now, Google has added the ability to swipe left and go directly to the dialer app. This seems to take the place of widgets on the lock screen. This Android build is not final so widgets can come back but for now the dialer is the only option.

One place to turn off notifications for each app

You can now disable notifications for any app: just go to Settings > Apps, select one of them and uncheck the “Show notifications” button. Now, Google has made it a little easier to turn off notifications for multiple apps at once.

In the Settings app, tap Sound & Notifications > Show Notifications > App Notifications. A list of all the apps on your device will then appear. Tap on one of them and you will see the “Show notifications” checkbox.

It's not much different from what we do today, but it's more streamlined, and you don't have to switch between the Installed/Running/All apps list, or deal with other options to shut up some annoying app.

Search the Settings app to discover more hidden options

The Settings app has a lot of useful features, but if you don't know what you're looking for, it can be hard to find. Now, the app comes equipped with a search box. For common actions like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, you probably won't need it, but if you're looking for the color correction tweak for colorblind, for example, the search box can be a big help.

Estimate of how long the battery will be charged (or how long it will last)

Google promised a number of new battery saving features in Android L. They just didn't mention that standard Android will now estimate how long it takes to fully charge the battery. When the device is connected, the lock screen will display how long it will take for the battery to reach 100%.

Also, when the device is unplugged, the battery section of the Settings app will estimate how long your battery will last, and when the device will turn off. Will these estimates be accurate? This will likely depend on your usage and Battery Saver settings, but it's good to have this information one way or another.

Read PDFs without native app

How many times do you really need to read a PDF on your smartphone? Hardly ever, but enough to annoy when this isn't possible natively. On a tablet, this is perhaps a bigger problem. Those who do not have Quickoffice installed, for example, notice this absence. Fortunately, Android L now includes a built-in PDF reader. THE Android Policenote that it is not enabled for now, but it should work for everyone when Android L is released.