This year, the first Android O developer preview arrived on March 21 for the Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and Nexus Player. but we should see a major update and a new preview version in mid-May right around the time Google I/O 2017 is happening. Our bet is that we will also see a proper beta program release then, but Google hasn't said as much.
What's New in Android 8.0.
- Background Limits
Google is continuing efforts to maximise battery life, which began with Android Nougat. It says it's increased the automatic limits on what apps can do in the background in a number of key areas (broadcasts, background services, location updates).
- Notification channels
Android O introduces notification channels to provide a unified system to help users manage notifications. When you target Android O, you must implement one or more notification channels to display notifications to your users. If you don’t target Android O, your apps behave the same as they do on Android 7.0 when running on Android O devices.You can create a notification channel for each distinct type of notification you need to send. You can also create notification channels to reflect choices made by users of your app. For example, you might setup separate notification channels for each conversation group created by a user in a messaging app.
Users can now manage most of the settings associated with notifications using a consistent system UI. All notifications posted to a notification channel behave the same. When a user modifies the behavior for any of the following characteristics, it applies to the notification channel:
- Importance
- Sound
- Lights
- Vibration
- Show on lockscreen
- Override do not disturb
Users can visit Settings, or long press a notification to change these behaviors, or even block a notification channel at any time. You can’t programmatically modify the behavior of a notification channel once it’s created and submitted to the notification manager; the user is in charge of those settings
- PICTURE-IN-PICTURE
As revealed in a recent leak, Google is bringing new PiP (picture-in-picture) features that enable users to continue watching videos while working within other apps; apps will be able to put themselves in PiP mode, Google says.In other words, with Android O, you'll be able to watch YouTube clips while sending boring work emails. Ace.
- AUTOFILL APIS
Google is bringing your favorite password manager apps in-house, in the same way you can access third-party keyboards.
The company writes: “Android users already depend on a range of password managers to auto-fill login details and repetitive information, which makes setting up new apps or placing transactions easier. Now we're making this work more easily available across the ecosystem by adding platform support for auto-fill.”
- Adaptive Icons
The Google Pixel Launcher brought adaptive icons, and now Android supports them systemwide and natively.
Options can be given for different shaped masks that define the outside border (think squircles) and icons can be animated. Adaptive icons will be supported in the launcher, shortcuts, device Settings, sharing dialogs, and the app overview screen.
- Notification customization
This is supposed to give end users "fine-grained control over different kinds of notifications."
They can block or change how each channel behaves. There is also a new UI and grouping for notifications. This will let users take a glance at notifications more easily.
- Autofilling
Android O will make it easier to autofill forms or ID/passwords when logging into an account.
The autofill app will store user's data including email ID, address, usernames and passwords securely. Developers can use Autofill APIs in their apps.
- WIDE COLOUR GAMUT IN IMAGING APPS
The makers of imaging apps can now make better use of the delicious new displays built by manufacturers; particularly those handsets with panels supporting a wide gamut colour.
"To display wide gamut images, apps will need to enable a flag in their manifest (per activity) and load bitmaps with an embedded wide color profile (Adobe RGB, Pro Photo RGB, DCI-P3, and so on)," Google advises developers.
- Advanced Audio
The new AAudio API was built for applications that need a high-performance and low-latency audio path. Audio data can be read and written via normal streams and the AAudio API handles the routing and latency.
The first versions of the AAudio APIs are not yet complete but are a great way for developers who need these features to provide feedback. We want the people building an equivalent of GarageBand for Android to have some say in how the new features work!
- BETTER KEYBOARD NAVIGATION
Google says the arrival of the Play Store on the Google Chrome OS means more users are navigating apps using a physical keyboard. So, in Android O, the company is making improvements to cater for the Chromebook crowd.
“In Android O, we focused on building a more reliable, predictable model for "arrow" and "tab" navigation that aids both developers and end-users," Google said.
- Connectivity
Android O brings some changes to the way our devices communicate with other devices. Welcome changes include:
High-quality Bluetooth audio through the Sony LDAC codec. Your favorite songs will sound even better through Bluetooth connections.
NAN (Neighborhood Aware Networking) connectivity using the Wi-Fi Aware specification. Devices with supported hardware can communicate with each other using Wi-Fi without a central access point.
Telecom framework introduces new ways for third-party calling apps to work with each other and with your carrier's special features. New APIs now support apps that don't need to use the universal system phone app to display calling information and this data can be displayed and controlled over Bluetooth.
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