Features sometimes disappear in Android without any explanation. Android 11 introduced IORap (I/O Read Ahead Process), a feature that improves app startup times by predicting which I/O will be required and doing it ahead of time. IORap was silently removed in Android 13.

The cool thing about IORap is that app startup times would be improved without developers needing to make any changes to their apps. You can read about how it worked in this blog post from AndroidDev. IORap was also brought up by the Android engineering team during their annual AMA on /r/AndroidDev.

It was brought to my attention the other day (by arter97 on Twitter) that this feature was removed from Android recently. I looked/asked around and couldn't find out why. If you know why, let me know!

Here's the AOSP commit in question.

EDIT: The bug reported in this Issue Tracker post may be related to why IORap was removed. The exact reasoning still isn't clear, but the timing and the statement at the end line up.

If you're wondering how Android's "Private Compute Core" really works, Google has just shared a technical whitepaper that describes its processes and mechanisms in-depth, complete with helpful diagrams!

Blog post | Private Compute Services sources

The latest Pixel Feature Drop that rolled out earlier this week also brought Android 13 QPR1, which looks like a minor update on the surface. But if you dig deep, there's a LOT of hidden features under the surface! Here are 10+ upcoming features I discovered in QPR1:

1) A revived desktop mode: Google's finally trying to make Android's barebones "desktop mode" experience more usable. There's a rumor of a "Pro" Pixel Tablet in the works according to @nullby so who knows what this could be for 👀

2) You know that taskbar that Google introduced in Android 12L? The one that only appears on tablets (or when you set the screen width to 600dp)? Google's working on letting you use that taskbar on phones WITHOUT needing to change the density!

3) I've already talked about how Android 13 is revamping the screen saver experience, and QPR1 made further improvements. There are new "smartspace", "media entry", and "home controls" complications. This is likely how the Pixel Tablet will act as a Nest Hub when docked😄

4) Android 13 QPR1 updated the ThemePicker app to support a new "custom clock" section, which will let you customize the lock screen clock. You can't customize clocks yet since it requires a separate app providing the clock plugins, though!

5) Google's working on letting you take a "partial screen share"! The feature is partially (heh) implemented in Android 13 QPR1.

6) In prep for the Pixel Tablet (or maybe Pixel Fold?), Android 13 QPR1 adds a special button to the taskbar that can launch Google Keep's drawing mode in a floating window.

7) There's a new "advanced VPN" feature in QPR1. Advanced VPNs don't need a user's consent to appear in the list of VPNs in Settings (that doesn't mean they're always active). Likely related to augmenting the Pixel 7's free VPN by Google One down the road?

8) Android TV is getting a "splitscreen menu". I'd love to run some apps side-by-side on my SHIELD TV (...if it ever gets Android 13)!

9) Immersive mode support is coming to Android Automotive apps!

10) The handling of Pixel's Quick Tap feature is being moved to Android's Private Compute Core. Is it for improved privacy? Potentially opening it up to OEMs? IDK!

There are some other hidden changes I discovered in Android 13 QPR1 that I won't mention here, because you can read about them (and see the code changes/screenshots for yourself) in this article over on blog.esper.io.

The model used by ML Kit's smart reply API can now be dynamically downloaded on user devices through Play Services. This "unbundled model" is now in beta and reduces app download size by ~5.5MB compared to the bundled version.