Theta Android News: Android 11 makes it easier to take a screenshot, adds options to overview menu

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Android 11 makes it easier to take a screenshot, adds options to overview menu

The third Android 11 Developer Preview arrived today, April 23, and we're just now digging into all the little changes. So far, there aren't many user-facing changes to note, while there are a handful of developer-focused improvements. (This is a developer preview after all!)

The one big changed we noticed in Android 11 Developer Preview 3 is a revamped recent apps (or overview) menu. The recent apps carousel still functions the same as in previous Android versions, but Google is adding a bit more functionality to it.

For starters, each recent app page is much larger than the smaller cards you'd find in Android 10. To see what I mean, take a look at the screenshots below. The Pixel 3 running Android 11 shows a much larger card than the Pixel 4 XL running Android 10.

: Revamped app overview screen in Android 11 DP3

: Old app overview screen in Android 10

Additionally, there are now two new screenshot options added on the recent apps screen: "Screenshot" on the left and "Share" on the right. The Screenshot option simply lets you take a screenshot of the current page that's pulled up in the recent apps page. Instead of awkwardly pressing and holding the power button and volume down keys to take a screenshot, I can now just navigate to the page I want, swipe up to open the overview menu, then tap that button. Easy.

The Share button will be pretty helpful. If you want to take a screenshot and know you'll want to share it right after, tap that Share icon ? it'll take a screenshot and open the share menu for you right away.

Unfortunately these new screenshot options don't include the upcoming scrolling screenshot feature that we know might launch with the stable version of Android 11.

You'll also notice the lack of suggested applications below those two new screenshot options. For some reason, Google is no longer suggesting any frequently used apps on this screen. (Check the Pixel 4 XL screenshot on the right for reference.)

Notice any other major changes in this Android 11 Developer Preview? Let us know in the comments. Be sure to also check out our other Android 11 coverage below.