Android 11 somewhat curbs aggressive ‘app killers’ from manufacturers

Google plans to give manufacturers less freedom in Android 11 when it comes to pruning background processes. They must inform users of ‘app restrictions’ in a timely manner and there will be an api for developers to check why an app has been closed.

The Android Engineering Team tells about it in an ama on Reddit. Manufacturers must notify users “in good time” when a background application is being throttled by the system. “This gives users the opportunity to opt-out of the restrictions,” the Google devs also say, but it’s not entirely clear whether this option is included in the notification about this, or whether people go deep into the caverns of the battery settings. have to dive for this. Furthermore, it will soon no longer be allowed for manufacturers to use a whitelist of apps, often their own, that are excluded from these optimisations.

For developers, there will be an api with which they can check for whatever reason their app has been discontinued. Here they can see whether this was the result of a crash, an action by the user or a choice of the operating system.

When an app is stopped in the background, it can cause several problems. The most prominent of these is that notifications no longer work. Google recognizes that these steps don’t fully address the issue, but they should be progress.

Android 11 beta 2 came out earlier this week. It is available on the Pixel phones. However, the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro also received beta 1 from their manufacturer. Google seems to want to release Android 11 on September 8.