Yesterday, Google released a developer preview of the next version of Android, which is called “Android 11” instead of “Android R” for simplicity (and because Google hates desserts now, that’s canon). It’s earlier than Google has ever released a version of Android, and as I noted in my story on the release I think that’s because there are a lot of changes that Android developers will have to contend with.
If you are not a developer, here is a good list of the most interesting new Android 11 features so far from Chaim Gartenberg, who also made a video overview. As he notes, this is very much a “developer preview” and not a “beta,” which means that it’s harder to install, wipes your device of its data, and is primarily designed for devs to test new features.
One thing we can glean is that Google is continuing its trend of taking inspiration from the iPhone’s privacy and security defaults. It introduced more limited location and storage permissions in Android 10, but in 11 they’re going to get even more stringent.
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I love it when a new operating system drops, because there’s a scramble to dig into the code and find hints of new features that haven’t been announced. Both Android Police and 9to5Google are a blast to read on these days, because they’re classically blogging stories on new features just as quickly as they can find them.
Below is a list of features that caught my eye, but unless you’re an Android user they might not catch yours. It’s a list of things that have been small hassles on the platform for ages. Every OS has them. And while tech companies will tout major new technologies as they release them, the things that usually have the biggest effect on my quality of digital life are the changes that make these computers just a little less frustrating.
These little details matter, because they’re the split-second hassles that stack up in a day and make you feel unsettled or annoyed without knowing precisely why. Unfortunately, you shouldn’t take this list as proof that all these features are coming. As Chaim Gartenberg notes in his video overview, we’ve seen features in early Android betas before only to have them disappear in the official release.
Anyway, this is what I’m looking forward to:
In the year 958, Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson succeeded his father as King of Denmark, and also for a brief period King of Norway, who was said to have united the tribes of Denmark. As you can guess, King Harald is the namesake for the Bluetooth technology we know today. Twenty-eight years later, in 986, King Harald was succeeded by his son Sweyn Forkbeard. … More importantly, though, the literal translation of Gabeldorsche is “forkbeards.” … Yep, all of that rigmarole just to say that Google is using the name “Gabeldorsche” to indirectly signify that it is the successor to Android’s Bluetooth stack.
That’s all the fun stuff, but I want to cycle back to developers for a moment. For years now, the well-justified knock against Android’s attempts to work on new form factors is that the apps haven’t kept up. Android apps on tablets were a mess, adding them as an option on ChromeOS felt haphazard, and most recently the Galaxy Fold had a slapdash approach to windowing multiple apps.
Just in the past year, Android 10 encouraged developers to move away from the lefthand app drawer because it doesn’t work well with the back gesture. That has resulted in very few apps — including Google’s own apps — changing.
This isn’t a result of lazy developers, it’s a result of bad incentives. The new devices that would benefit from the new changes — be they tablets or Pixel phones — always represent a sliver of the market. Most Android manufacturers are more cautious in their updates, so the cost/benefit calculation for any given Android developer to keep up with Google’s latest is obvious.
With Android 11 (or, to get technical, with the new API level), it looks like Google is going to be embarking on another one of those quests, but this time it’s getting developers to update their apps for new permission structures like scoped storage and location permissions. There’s a somewhat complicated developer-facing opt-in system, but by and large the big change is that Google is making these changes requirements instead of suggestions. It’s using the whip instead of the carrot.
It’s past time it did so, I think, because the traditional incentives haven’t worked. On iOS, developers have to keep up or get left behind. On Android, most users are a year or two (or three!) behind the latest version, so there’s less urgency to keep modern. It’s a rational decision for an app maker, and I think Google could stand to make more rational decisions about requiring more and suggesting less to help push more Android apps to get better.
Last September I wrote that Google can’t fix the Android update problem, arguing that the basic way the ecosystem works makes it impossible. I stand by that, but in the months since the situation has gotten better, with Samsung offering early update betas and distributing new OS versions to its devices more quickly.
The technical changes Google made to Android to make those faster updates possible started years before Samsung’s modest improvements.
That OS update problem continues to be annoying, but Google’s various projects have mitigated that pain a bit. Now it’s time to tackle app quality. Google has a harder problem than Apple — apps for Android have to work across dozens of manufacturers making thousands of different kinds of devices.
But the stone-cold truth is that on the whole, iPhone apps look, feel, and perform better than most Android apps. Whatever gee-whiz features come in Android 11, the thing to pay attention to will be the incentives for developers to invest more in their Android apps.
There’s a good deal happening on the OnePlus 7T. Normally $599, it’s $499 right now. In terms of specs, it falls behind Samsung’s new Galaxy S20, though admittedly not by much. It has the Snapdragon 855 Plus CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of fast UFS 3.0 storage. The OnePlus 7T also has a 90Hz refresh rate display, giving your apps and games a smoother look when they animate.
The 4K versions of the original trilogy will be the same ones seen on Disney Plus, not the first cuts fans might be hoping for. That means more “Maclunkey” for buyers.
┏ Nerf is bringing back three original Super Soakers this spring. I was a Super Soaker 30 kid. This post from Sean Hollister is a fun read if only because it’s a brief glimpse into the Very Serious World of squirtgun fanatics. Be careful clicking through, you might end up getting sucked down a rabbithole.
In a lovely coincidence, The Verge’s copy desk made a number of updates to our site’s style guide yesterday. Among them was the guidance that we may now “lowercase proper nouns as verbs,” which means that, after nine years on the internet, writers at The Verge can finally tell you to go google something or to photoshop an image. … “I think that the users of a language — the people — should be guiding standards, not brands or companies,” Kara Verlaney, The Verge’s senior copy editor, told me. Continuing to capitalize photoshop “just stopped making sense” when these words are already used so colloquially, she said. “I didn’t decide to [change it]. It was already happening.”
Mobile office app competition is back, maybe
Speaking of nostalgia! Once upon a time there was a big fight for who could make the best office suite for a phone — back in the QuickOffice vs DocsToGo days. All that fizzled out a bit as phones started being more than just business tools for business folks. But Microsoft’s renewed efforts on Android make me think we could see some real competition again.
Back in the day the competition was between independent app makers all using standardized document formats, now it’s just Google vs Microsoft. Not what I would like, but it’s better than the stasis in mobile office apps we’ve been dealing with for the past couple years.
┏ Microsoft’s new Office app arrives on iOS and Android with mobile-friendly features. Everything Tom Warren describes here sounds genuinely interesting, so please don’t take the following as a dismissal of the work or quality put into the new, unified Office App. I can’t help but wonder if the impetus for going to a single app instead of three separate ones was simply driven by a desire to get on home screens and a single app has a better shot at doing that than three apps, which would be more likely to get buried in a folder called “Work.”
Microsoft is still planning to keep the individual Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps available for people who only use the standalone versions, but this combined app is clearly where most of the new mobile-focused features will appear in the future.
┏ To expose sexism at Uber, Susan Fowler blew up her life. You might think that the Uber story is ancient history, but it very much isn’t. Elizabeth Lopatto interviews Susan Fowler and also gives us some needed reminders of what we may have seen headlines for but didn’t synthesize into a coherent narrative. It’s here and in Fowler’s book, and it’s sobering.
We are sitting at an amusingly named diner-type location in the Bay Area. I will not be more specific, as Fowler has been stalked by private detectives and others in the aftermath of her extremely viral blog post about sexual harassment at Uber. In fact, she would only meet me if I promised not to reveal where. … “I do live my life a lot differently now,” she says. “I’m always looking over my shoulder.”
┏ Folding glass: how, why, and the truth of Samsung’s Z Flip. Sean Hollister with a very deep look at how folding glass actually works. I learned a lot reading this, including how catastrophic a nick or scratch can be to glass that’s so thin it can bend. “Ye cannae change the laws of physics!”
Samsung didn’t lie about the primary innovation here: the Galaxy Z Flip is truly a folding glass phone. It’s just that glass is actually made by German manufacturer Schott, it’s got a soft, scratchable plastic layer up top, and — hopefully — future folding glass phones won’t require that extra protection.
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
