Through the years, along the way, through the trials and tribulations, app developers all around the world have given feedback in helping create the greatest Android operating system ever. Developers of the Android O have given users a sneak peek once before, updating us on the stage of development and what is new and inclusive to the OS. Let us dive into the entirety of the system and learn what it can do.
About Android O
The Android Nougat system has had a phenomenal run. It has reached hundreds of millions of customers. People are very loyal to the OS because it is easy to use, and it does not cost hundreds of dollars. Android is an open system, meaning anyone can change the system to their liking. The options an open shared system has have given app developers, device manufacturers, and cell phone companies the freedom to take away or add to the system as they choose. Throughout the years, the creators in the industry have consistently engineered and updated the system, and people learned that anything is possible with the system. The Android O project has considered all that was wrong with the previous versions of Android. The developers have changed, done away with, or added features that make it the greatest system ever. Android is an amazing company because it takes so much feedback— from users mostly, but also app developers, device manufacturers, and cell phone providers—so they can ensure they are aware of every single problem or feature that needs to change, be destroyed, or added. They have collected this data from millions of users and providers over several years and are now putting it all together. Right now, they are in the debugging and polishing phase. Let us take a closer look at the new features and where they are at in their development.
What Is New About Android O?
There are plenty of new features that this system offers. The developers have only given us a small sample of what the system is capable of. By the time the system rolls out to the hundreds of millions of devices, it will have changed quite a bit. However, we can get a glimpse into how incredible the system is already and, as always, give Android our opinion and feedback about their development.
Background Limits
The number one priority the developers have identified is battery life, energy consumption, and interactive performance. Background applications can seriously eat your data and your battery if you don’t know how to control them. With the new system, it will have automatic limits on what applications can do in the background so they don’t consume your battery and data. This will extend the life of your device on one charge significantly. They have also set limits on applications that require the location of the device. This consumes energy and data more than it should.
Notification Channels
Notification content is neatly packed into app-defined categories. These notification channels give users quite a bit more control over their notification options. The user can fine-tune each app’s behavior when notifying you of activity. This is a great change as before, you had to manage notifications all together without many options. It also allows the user to change the visuals and grouping of the notifications for an incoming message or other notification in the slide-down menu.
Autofill
Android O will have a stable platform for autofill. Placing transactions and filling in your information when you are downloading a new app or filling in pdf files will be much easier and smarter than before. There will be autofill apps to choose from similar to what Android has for selecting different keyboards, and the autofill app secures and stores all data. This is an easy and safe way to quickly fill in information on the go when time isn’t on your side.
PIP and Window Features
Picture in picture is a new feature on Android O. Users can continue to watch a video or chat with a friend and order a ride downtown. You can order your favorite pizza and not miss a second of the game. Apps that support this feature will go into PIP mode whenever they are paused. This feature is also full of options. You can select the aspect ratio of the screens as well as which ones you can pause and play. The Android O is also featuring a new app overlay window, which is replacing the system alert window, and a multi-display support for putting the OS into a remote display.
Adaptive Icons
Each icon in Android O is customizable. These adaptive icons allow the user to better integrate with the device; the system will display various shapes, colors, and animations, all from a mask set by the user on the device. Interactions with icons will be animated, and the user will adapt to the style and color of the animation and be able to pick out an apps icon quickly. The system will use the adaptive icons in the launcher, settings, overview screen, shortcuts, and sharing dialogs.
Connectivity
The new OS will support more HD Bluetooth audio codecs like the LDAC codec. This adds much more capability when pairing a new Bluetooth device to the system. Wi-Fi is about to get a whole lot better with the Android O. It has new features that allow the user to communicate over Wi-Fi without having an internet access point. This is made possible from the feature they call “Wi-Fi aware,” which is commonly known as neighbor awareness networking, or NAN. Android reports that they are working with hardware partners around the globe to find the best viable way to feature this in Android O. They are also upgrading third-party calling apps by extending the Telecom framework and connection service APIs to properly integrate with the system UI, which will enable those apps to seamlessly operate with other audio applications. For example, your third party calling or texting app can be displayed in various UIs, such as a car radio or another Bluetooth device.
Release Date
Android O is set to release summer of 2017 and currently has an open beta available for Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 6P and 5X, or the Pixel C. The mostly likely debut for Android O when it is ready for full release will most likely be on the Google Pixel 2. Project Treble is currently working to ensure that Android O will be accessible on other devices outside of Google-branded phones. So far, beta users have loved the faster boot times, the ability to restrict background activities to save power, and improvements to the Doze function. There are also a few settings that have been reconfigured to make retrieving notifications easier than ever with contextual text to hold options, adaptive app icons, and boosted audio performance. Android O will have native support for LDAC and hi-resolution Bluetooth audio. Many people are also excited about the new emoji style that is released with Android O. The faces will be rounder and include new emotions, actions, and creatures. The soonest release date for Android O is rumored to be August and before the iOS 11 is released. Google is known to name its Android OS updates after desserts with previous names including Cupcake, Éclair, Kit-Kat, and the most recent, Nougat. Names such as Oreo, Orange, and Oatmeal Cookie have all been on the table as possible names for the Android O update. What have you heard about Android O? Tell us in the comments below!
