Android 11 introduces great new features and APIs for developers. The sections below help you learn about features for your apps and get started with the related APIs.
For a detailed list of new, modified, and removed APIs, read the API diff report. For details on new APIs visit the Android API reference — new APIs are highlighted for visibility. Also, to learn about areas where platform changes may affect your apps, be sure to check out Android 11 behavior changes for apps that target Android R and for all apps, as well as privacy changes.
New experiences
Device controls
Android 11 includes a new ControlsProviderService API that
you can use to expose controls for connected, external devices. These controls
appear under Device controls in the Android power menu. For more
information, see Control external devices.
Media Controls
Android 11 updates how media controls are displayed. Media controls appear near quick settings. Sessions from multiple apps are arranged in a swipeable carousel which includes streams playing locally on the phone, remote streams, such as those detected on external devices or cast sessions, and previous, resumable sessions in the order they were last played.
Users can restart previous sessions from the carousel without having to start the app. When playback begins, the user interacts with the media controls in the usual way.
For more information, see media controls.