Web User - UK (2019-06-12)

38 12 - 25 June 2019

Will you be joinin g the qu eue for the tenth version

of Google’s mobile operating system? David

Crookes reveals what Andr oid Q has to offer

Android Q

What is Android Q?

Android Q, also known as Android 10,

is theforthcomingversion of Google’s

mobile operating system, which is

celebrating its 10th anniversary thisyear.

It’s actually the 15th iteration of theOS

and follows on from Android9, also

known as Pie, whichwas released last

year. Asexpected, itcomes with araft of

new features, some of which are security-

related while others are simply setto

prove rather useful.

So what does the Qstand for?

At the moment,we don’t know, but it’s

sure to be somethingfood-flavoured.The

AndroidOS was dubbed Cupcake when

it arrived in April 2009 and subsequent

versions have been named Donut,Eclair,

Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice

Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat,

Lollipop, Marshmallow, Nougat, Oreo and

Pie. So perhaps this time out it will be

Quiche or Quinoa, although these don’t

really fit the‘sweet treat’ theme, or

perhaps there will be anothercommercial

deal. Android 10 Quorn, anyone?

Will it look and feel different?

Judging from the public betas that have

beenrolling outrecently, Q is not going

to represent a giant leapforward – it’s

certainly not a dramatic update along the

lines of Ice Cream Sandwich. But there

will be a little bit of a learning curve, not

least because of its greater use of

gestures.

What gestures does it introduce?

Q is ditching navigation buttons and is

taking a tip from Appleby introducinga

Home Indicator bar, placed in itsown

sectionat the bottom of the screen.

Swiping up on the Home Indicator sends

you to the home screen, as it does in iOS,

but the difference is thatswiping up and

holding letsyou ac cess your recently

used apps, and a quickswipe left or right

cycles betweenyour apps. Ifyou simply

swipe up on the displayrather than the

indicator, you’ll be ableto view the app

drawer. Android Q also doesawaywith a

Back button. Instead, you swipe in from

the left or right edge of the screen.

Dark days for buttons then?

And for your eyes. Android 10 also

follows the currenttech trendfor dark

modesby introducing what it calls a Dark

Theme to reduce glare andeye fatigue.

This willwork across the operating

system andyou will have a choice of

FAQ

Everything you need to know about the most

interesting new technology trends and events

Image

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Android Q is unlikelyto take as muchof

a leapforward as Ice Cream Sandwich

Android Q’s DarkThemestops you straining

your eyes and saves battery life, too

enabling it throughout the day or having

it switch on automaticallyat night. Doing

so is as easy as calling up the Quick