Android 8.1 adds a restore option of a Google Drive backup after the setup process. This backup can include anything from applications to other data like photos, device settings, call history, SMS messages, and more, and it’ll appear after a factory reset too so this doesn’t have to be a completely new device that you’re linking your Google account too. This could be an especially feature to have if you don’t initiate the restore during the actual setup process for whatever reason, like simply wanting to get through it as quickly as you possibly can so you can start using the phone.
If you happen to be on the Android 8.1 beta software, and if you factory reset the device, you could go into settings after the initial setup and find a button at the top that suggests finishing the setup of your phone. Hitting the “finish setup” button would take you to a screen asking you what you want to restore, and you can check or uncheck as many boxes as you like, and then finally hit the restore button to finalize things.
Since this an Android 8.1 feature, there’s no telling if any devices on Android 8.0 save for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will get access to this, though there’s always the possibility that Google will introduce it to other versions of the software eventually. However, it’s not a guarantee. That said this is also only a beta version of the software, so Google could end up changing something here, though it isn’t likely given it’s already available on Google’s latest devices, so this is probably something that is here to stay. While this is admittedly a pretty minor feature, or at least it probably will be to most users, there are those that may find it invaluable. It’s also just one of a handful of changes that Google has introduced with the latest version of Android that users can check out if they have the beta running on their devices, or once they install the final public release of the software, whenever Google decides to push it out to devices that will be getting it.
