Android 9 Pie Version Review: Features, Pros, Cons
Introduction and Overview
Android 9 Pie (API level 28), released in 2018, was a significant update that introduced a refreshed visual design and several features focused on using Machine Learning (AI) for a smarter, simpler, and more balanced user experience.
Here is a review of some of the key features, pros, and cons of Android 9 Pie:
Key Features of Android 9 Pie
Adaptive Battery: Learns which apps you use and when, prioritizing battery power for your most-used apps and services to extend battery life.
Adaptive Brightness: Learns your preferred screen brightness in different environments and automatically adjusts it over time.
App Actions: Predicts your next likely action based on context and offers a shortcut for it (e.g., suggesting a Google Maps navigation shortcut when you plug in headphones in the morning).
Slices: Provides snippets of relevant app functionality right within Google Search results and other parts of the OS (e.g., searching for "Uber" could show a slice with a button to call a ride to work).
This suite of features was a major focus, designed to help users manage their screen time:
Dashboard: Shows detailed information about how you use your phone, including time spent in each app, number of unlocks, and notifications received.
App Timer: Lets you set daily time limits for specific apps. Once the limit is reached, the app's icon is temporarily grayed out for the rest of the day.
Wind Down: Gently reminds you it's time to sleep by gradually turning the screen to grayscale (monochrome) at a scheduled time.
Shush Mode: Activates Do Not Disturb by simply placing your phone face down on a flat surface.
User Interface and Navigation
New Gesture Navigation (Optional): Replaced the traditional three-button navigation bar (Back, Home, Recents) with a single, pill-shaped home button and new swipe gestures for multitasking and opening the app drawer.
Revamped Visual Style: Introduced a "Material Design" refresh with a more rounded look, colored icons in the Settings menu, and more white space. It also added a Dark Theme for system menus (often called "Night Mode" by manufacturers like Samsung).
Improved Volume Controls: The volume slider was moved to the right side of the screen and, crucially, the volume buttons now control media volume by default instead of the ringer volume—a long-requested change.
Simplified Screenshot: A new shortcut to take a screenshot was added to the power menu, and an option to immediately edit or share appeared in the notification.
Android 9 Pie was a foundational release that moved the operating system toward an AI-first approach. It made Android feel more modern and cohesive with its visual overhaul and focused heavily on the user's well-being with its Digital Wellbeing tools.
While its initial attempt at gesture navigation was a bit rough around the edges and later replaced by a more refined system in Android 10, the core AI features (Adaptive Battery/Brightness) and quality-of-life improvements (volume control, screenshots) made it a worthy and functional upgrade for most users.
Text Source: Google Gemini AI
