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Android 11 is here and brings built-in screen recording at last

The new OS moves out of beta and arrives on devices today.

Months after the Android 11 beta was released in June, the final version is finally here and ready to roll out to consumer devices. While we already saw upcoming features like messaging bubbles, grouped conversation notifications as well as new media and device controls in the preview, Google surprised us today by also adding built-in screen recording. At last! iOS has offered this natively, while Samsung, LG and OnePlus have integrated versions of the tool into their skins.

The update rolls out to select Pixel, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo and realme phones starting today, with Google saying that more partners are set to launch and update their devices in the coming months. You should see a notification telling you the installation is ready, and the process will involve downloading and installing a 1.72GB package.

If you can’t decide whether you should accept the update or cling onto your old OS, check out our full review of the new software. I spent some time with Android 11 prior to its release, and overall it brings some helpful tools but isn’t a huge refresh. Still, those of us who love using screen recording to share videos of things we’re seeing or doing on our phones will find at least one new tool useful.