Android 10 Release

Android 10 was released to Google phones, along with a handful of others models, at the beginning of September. While its release across the remaining Android models is still being awaited, we wanted to give you an idea of what to expect when it arrives…

Increased Privacy

Location Controls

Location controls in Android will now give you three options for sharing your location with apps: always, while the app is in use or never.

Privacy Controls

Increased controls mean that you will be able to decide how and when data is shared on your device. You can choose what data is shared and for how long. Android are also giving its users the option to opt-out of re-marketing.

Faster Security Updates

Moving forward, any security or privacy updates will be sent to the Google Play store. This will mean that your phone can be updated as soon as the updates are available, in the same way that all of your other apps are.

Increased accessibility

Smart Reply

Smart Reply gives you suggested actions and responses across more areas of your device. As well as suggesting directions in maps, it can also give you reply suggestions, across multiple messaging platforms.

Live Caption

This cool new feature enables your device to create subtitles for media on your phone with just a single tap. You don’t need to be connected to the internet, and it even works on videos you’ve recorded yourself.

Gesture Navigation

Android 10 brings quicker and more intuitive gestures with it. You can move around your device, between apps and to your home screen, easier than ever before.

Additional features

Sound Amplifier

The new Sound Amplifier gives you more audio options than ever before. Choose to filter out background noise, or give the sound a boost. No matter what you’re doing, simply choose your settings and plug in your headphones for clear sound.

Dark Theme

This nifty tool is great for using at night and it also reduces the amount of power that your device needs. The Dark theme can be enabled on your device, and also works throughout all of the Google apps.

Focus Mode

The feature is currently in a beta phase, but the concept of it is interesting. It allows users to select distracting apps so that they can be paused temporarily, allowing you to stay distraction free.

Digital Well-being and Family Link

Android are continuing work on their Digital Well-being features to ensure that you can switch off properly when you want to. They’ve also introduced a system called Family Link which allows you to set digital rules for the whole family.

These features allow you to personalise your device to create a handset that works how you want it to. From saving battery life with the dark theme to having more control over your location settings, Android 10 seems to offer more freedom to the user than before. Hopefully, these software updates will be available soon for other models, such as Samsung and Huwawei.