During the Android Q Beta Period, a built-in capability for creating condition-based macros was spotted. This unannounced Android 10 “Rules” feature quietly went live today for at least one Pixel user.
At a high-level, Android 10 Rules are not too different from Google Assistant Routines or Shortcuts on iOS 13. When you connect to a “Wi-Fi network” or arrive at a certain “Location,” four different actions can be automatically triggered:
- Turn on Do Not Disturb
- Set phone to silent
- Set phone to vibrate
- Set phone to ring
A German Pixel 2 XL user had the Rules menu quietly appear in Settings > System today with the functionality mostly unchanged from an early version enabled by over the summer. The location feature lets you granularly set an accuracy radius.
Android 10 can suggest Rules for you based on repeated actions, while you’ll see a system notification when an action has been triggered. These capabilities are quite simple and essentially Digital Wellbeing’s Wind Down, but available throughout the day.
None of the Pixel devices we checked this evening have Rules enabled. Behind the scenes, the feature is dependent on Settings Suggestions. Google is possibly running an A/B test before a wider launch, but the company has yet to even officially detail the functionality.
More about Android 10:
- Gesture navigation comes to third-party launchers w/ Android 10 on the Pixel 4
- These are the new default Google apps for Android 10 and Android Go
- First Android 10 patch improves Pixel gesture navigation, fixes several bugs
- Android 10 Privacy page adds ‘Device Personalization Services’ menu to ‘Clear data’
Author: Abner Li
Source: 9TO5Google
