Android 11 is available on loads of smartphones – here’s what you need to know about it.
Android 11 is the latest version of Google’s operating system currently available for smartphones – it’s 2020’s iteration of the Android update, and it’s ready to download on a whole host of smartphones. While Google has now announced Android 12, that update won’t be officially available on smartphones until later in 2021. You can buy plenty of smartphones that come with Android 11 pre-installed, though the update is still rolling out to older smartphones around the world. Depending on the phone you use, you might be waiting a while yet – or may never get the update. More and more smartphones get the Android 11 update every month, bringing new features and tools to Android phone users around the world. You can see which smartphones are compatible with Android 11 below, and more companies are announcing the update is coming to their phones all the time, so this list will keep getting expanded. Below that, we’ve listed all the Android 11 features that are available. There are a few intriguing ones this year, like improved smart home and media controls, and built-in screen recording, but there’s nothing as major as Android 10 ‘s Dark Mode. Finally, as with most Android builds, Android 11 has a cool hidden Easter egg, and we’ve got a guide to how you can access and use that. If you’ve got a low-end phone Android 11 might not come to you at all – that’s why Google also designed Android 11 (Go edition) which is a lightweight version of the operating system that works on handsets with 2GB or less of RAM. Phones running this version of Android 11 should start coming out soon. Google released Android 11 on September 8,2020 – we were expecting this date thanks to leaks from the company, but Google itself didn’t build up much fanfare for the new operating system. Well, September 8 marked the release of Android 11 on Pixel phones, but if you own a handset from a company other than Google, you had to wait. Manufacturers with custom forks of Android will now need to build their own versions of Android 11, then roll them out to their smartphones – that could be quick, for newer flagships, but if you’ve got an older or mid-range handset you might be waiting a while. So while lots of new smartphones can upgrade to Android 11, and some devices even come with it pre-installed, depending on your device and country you might be waiting a while. We’ve listed the vast majority of globally-available smartphones that can get Android 11, although have left out a few that are only available in few regions, or haven’t been announced yet. Please note, the rollout is done in a continent-by-continent or country-by-country basis, so if you have a compatible Android 11 phone but can’t download the update, just be patient. Below are all the key features Google has confirmed are in Android 11: Android 11 brings a feature some custom Android forks already have – built-in screen recording. This lets you use easily-accessible controls within the phone to create a video of what’s on your screen, similar to screenshots. You can even record the sound of your phone, or use the mic to narrate what you’re doing, so this should be a great feature for creating short-form video like TikToks, or for making tutorial videos to help less tech-savvy relatives make the most of their smartphone.
