When Google introduced multi-user profiles for Android tablets in Android 4.3 last July, there was initially some excitement as people thought that it would soon come to phones as well. Multi-user support for phones didn’t eventuate with Android 4.4 (KitKat) but maybe Android L will be different, with a feature request logged with Google on the Android L Issue Tracker, closed by a Googler stating ‘The development team has implemented this feature and it will be available as a part of the next public build’.
It’s a pretty definitive answer. But it’s not unexpected. When Google announced all the new features of Android L at Google I/O, there was also mention of support for the Samsung derived security feature KNOX going forward from Android L. Knox by default allows for Multi-user accounts on all Android devices, so it seems logical that they would provide the functionality, although whether it will only be available as a KNOX based secured multi-user option is another question.
The very way that the feature request was closed, advising the feature would be available in the next ‘public build’ raises questions. When will the next Android L version be released? Will there be another Android L Developer Preview build released after LPV79, but before the full launch of Android L? We’ll have to wait to find out.
Do you use Mult-User accounts on your Android tablet? Would you use it on Phones? What features specific to phones would you like to see in multi-user accounts in Android L?
Great. I wonder exactly how it will work.. I’ve used it on tablet but I’m just interested to see how it’s implemented on phone since the use case is different.
Yep one reason why Google said it wasn’t available to phones right away was because of cases such as receiving a call. Can any account on the phone receive a call for anybody? What about if there’s a lockscreen? etc.