When last month Google the first Android 11 Developer Preview, researchers have discovered a set of new features for gesture control codenamed Columbus. Double-tapping the back of the device has been found to launch Google Assistant, turn on the camera, and more. Android 11 Developer Preview 2 has further expanded the list of available gestures.
Among other things, with the help of double taps, Android 11 will allow you to launch an overview of recently used applications, as well as take a screenshot. The new double-tap controls were supposed to be exclusive to the new Google Pixel smartphones. However, with the release of Android 11 Developer Preview 2, researchers have found that the features work on the Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 4, and Pixel 4 XL smartphones.
No additional hardware is required to use the new gesture controls. Instead, it uses data from built-in sensors such as the accelerometer and gyroscope to detect when the user double taps the back of the device. To reduce power consumption, the new commands have some restrictions that protect against accidental activation when the screen is off, the lock screen is activated, or the camera is running. The researchers also found code to protect against false positives by using filters for the upper and lower frequencies of the accelerometer and gyroscope. This is evidenced by the appearance of several new classes in SystemUIGoogle.
The suite of new Columbus gesture control features includes options to start a timer and Google Assistant, control music playback, turn on the camera, and more. The researchers note that while they were able to reproduce these features on some Google smartphones, including including the Pixel 3a XL and Pixel 2 XL, there is no evidence that the new gestures will remain in place after the Android 11 software platform goes public.
Source: 3dnews.ru