[Product Update]: Android Enterprise Feature Drop

Today’s AI-driven, mobile-first world demands a modern platform to power productivity and collaboration, while keeping security at its core to help mitigate new potential threats. 

Android is continually evolving to meet new business needs. As organizations increasingly rely on mobile solutions, the demand for robust security, seamless collaboration, and efficient management have never been higher. 

We’ve already released many powerful updates this year, with more on the way. Here’s a look at the latest advancements designed to power modern employee experiences and strengthen your digital defenses:

Resilient security and integrated defense

Built-in security businesses can trust.

• Advanced Protection1: Safeguard teams from targeted cyberattacks with multi-layered defense against online attacks, harmful apps, and data risks. Turn on Google’s most powerful security features with a single tap for continuous protection.

• APN Overrides via AMAPI: Precisely manage and secure cellular connectivity by defining and enforcing custom network and APN rules on managed devices, ensuring devices only connect to authorized networks. 

• Identity Check2: Employees can now protect access to sensitive data outside of trusted locations by enabling required biometric authentication to access sensitive resources outside of trusted locations to defend against account takeovers. 

• Corporate badges in Google Wallet3: Employees can add their corporate ID badge to their Google Wallet for secure, one-tap access to NFC-enabled work buildings.

Advanced Protection UI

Identity Check UI flow

Corporate badges in Google Wallet

Modern experiences built for today’s teams

Equip your workforce with new productivity and digital wellbeing tools for more efficiency and a better employee experience.

• Material 3 Expressive: Elevate the employee experience across managed and unmanaged devices and apps with customizable UI, smoother movements and better feedback. Teams will be able to access the new UI later this year.

• Notification Auto-Grouping: Minimize distractions and digital fatigue. Notification Auto-Grouping tackles digital clutter by consolidating multiple notifications from one app into a single, cohesive display.

• Desktop Windowing: Discover desktop-like multitasking on Android tablets. Teams can open and resize multiple app windows side-by-side, empowering employees to multitask efficiently and collaborate without constant screen-switching. 

• TaskBar Overflow: Access and organize apps more easily on Android tablets. An expandable panel makes it easy to sort through all open apps, even when the main taskbar is full. Teams can also pin critical apps for instant access, saving time and keeping things organized.

• Custom Keyboard Shortcuts4: Accelerate workflows and improve efficiency on Android tablets with an attached keyboard. Teams can create personalized shortcuts for frequently used apps to tailor their work experience.

• Gemini in Google Docs5: Unlock AI-powered productivity as you work from your phone. Gemini is built right into Google Docs, so employees can instantly summarize documents, refine content or create a new draft, without switching apps. 

• PDF in Chrome on Android: Revamp workflows with in-browser viewing of linked PDFs, which now open directly within a new Chrome tab.

Desktop Windowing UI Flow

Scalable control with simplified provisioning and governance

Optimize IT operations with streamlined deployment and centralized management across your Android fleet.

• Efficient device setup6: Streamline device onboarding and boost productivity from day one. An improved setup workflow for managed Android devices enables IT teams to deploy fleets with fewer screens and reduced issues, freeing up resources and giving quicker access to corporate resources to employees.

• Device EID access for eSIM Management7: Enable eSIM provisioning at scale. Help streamline provisioning and management by pulling EID values from your managed fleet, including BYOD, to enable seamless provisioning of eSIMs on enrolled devices. 

• 5G Slicing via AMAPI8: Solve network congestion with new AMAPI support for 5G slicing. IT teams can route enterprise app traffic through designated network slices, guaranteeing reliable performance for essential workflows on Android devices.

• Support for Android App Bundle (AAB) files for private apps: Simplify internal app distribution and management. AAB file support for private apps on Google Play helps IT rapidly deploy, update, and manage proprietary tools, streamlining delivery, and optimizing app size.

• Zero-touch Customer Portal improvements: Customize permissions and gain more transparency across enrolled devices. Detailed Zero-touch audit logs record account activity, for better user support, abuse prevention and compliance. Plus, new capabilities for administrators to define and assign access levels for admin roles are coming soon.

Zero-touch Customer Portal Audit Log UI Flow

Dive into the Community

Android is constantly evolving with exciting new features and our community is a great resource for staying informed, discussing what’s next, and sharing best practices to best leverage these updates. 

In case you missed them, explore some of our recent articles and discussions:

• Introducing Device Trust from Android Enterprise
• Zero-touch Enhancement: Audit Logs
• Android App Bundle Support in Managed Google Play
• Signup and Device Enrollment: New features and upcoming plans

For a deeper dive into the how-to’s, check out our Help Center article.

In the meantime, share your thoughts - what features are you most excited about? Do any of these new features solve any existing pain points? Let us know what you’d like to see next in the comments below!