Android 10, Google’s ‘simpler, smarter and more helpful’ OS, is now live

Google on Tuesday officially launched Android 10, its “simpler, smarter and more helpful” operating system for Android smartphones.

“With this release, we focused on making your everyday life easier with features powered by on-device machine learning, as well as supporting new technologies like Foldables and 5G,” Google said on its blog.

The update brings several new tools and privacy settings to users, including Live Caption, Dark Theme and Smart Reply.

Live Caption, an accessibility tool, adds captions to any video or audio content “across apps” on Pixel phones, while Dark Theme allows users to enable dark mode on their phones or selected apps.

Smart Reply, which suggests replies as you type on platforms like Gmail, now suggests actions in messaging apps as well. This means that, when you receive a link or location, Smart Reply will suggest that you open them on the relevant app with “no copying and pasting required”.

Android 10 also features gesture navigation that users can enable instead of conventional buttons.

“With simple swipes, you can go backwards, pull up the home screen, and fluidly move between tasks,” Google explained.

In addition to these new features, users will also be able to control how apps use their location information by only sharing their data when actively using an app. Google will also notify users if an app is tracking them when not in use.

The update further includes Google’s Focus Mode and Family Link, which the company revealed in May.

Android 10 has already begun rolling out on Pixel smartphones and is set to reach other Android devices in the coming months.

Feature image: Google