Android Q Beta 1 arrives on Pixel phones, new features revealed

Google releases a new beta version of Android Q on Pixel phones. The new operating system comes with developer-focused tools as well as compatibility features for foldable phones.

Dave Burke, Vice President of Engineering at Google, wrote in a blog post on Wednesday, "In Android Q, we've made more enhancements to protect our users. The operating system (OS) would give users more control over when apps could get a location. Users would also be able to control apps' access to the Photos, Videos and Audio collections via new run-time permissions".

The company has also added several sharing shortcuts on Android Q that facilitate easy and one-tap content sharing.

Burke said, "When a user wants to share content like a photo with someone in another app Android Q will make it quicker and easier with Sharing Shortcuts, which let users jump directly into another app to share content".

The first beta of Android Q came with improvements in the Settings panel that comes with peer-to-peer and Internet connectivity along with better permissions, privacy and security features.

Additionally, the search engine giant also seems to have focused on camera, media and graphic advancements in Android Q.

"Starting in Android Q, apps can request a Dynamic Depth image which consists of a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) metadata, making it possible for you to offer specialised blurs and bokeh options in your app. You can even use the data to create 3D images or support Augmented Reality (AR)- photography use-cases in the future," Bruke added.