The upcoming Android OS comes with fresh & tasty updates that give your Android phone more power and better functionality. Android Oreo is finally out of the bag and we’re sure you’re excited to see what it has to offer. Although there are little milestone upgrades this time, these new features collectively help your smartphone perform much, much better.
What are they? Stick around to find out.
Android Oreo Fact Sheet
Nougat’s successor finally has a name and it’s as sweet as its predecessor. Congratulations to those who’ve guessed the name right! Android Oreo will be rolling out in September, and Google plans to have it distributed to more phones than Nougat. According to reports, it’ll come pre-installed in the latest Pixel flagship phones and be downloadable shortly after to a select number of handsets.
Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Pixel, Pixel XL, and Pixel C are among the first in line to get the Android O. Flagship phones from other major brands like LG, Samsung, and HTC are expected to get the update before Christmas.
With Android Oreo heading our way, let’s get to know the features we’ll likely enjoy on the new OS.
Better protection from malware
Promoted alongside Android O, Google Play Protect scans incoming and installed apps for malware. It’ll send you notifications if it spots anything suspicious or needs to take immediate action against potential threats.
Despite getting the spotlight on Android Oreo, this feature actually rolled out to older devices through Google Play Services. To check if your Android phone has it, head on over to Settings > Google > Security.
Notification badges
Anyone who has owned an iPhone would be familiar with this feature and we’re excited that it’s finally coming to Android. On Android Oreo, apps will now display notification badges on home screen icons.
This will need some time to be fully implemented, though, since developers will still have to enable it in their respective apps.
To turn it on, go to Settings > Apps & notification > Notifications where you’ll find the toggle switch.
Longer battery life
Android Oreo has come up with new rules on what apps can and can’t do in the background. In theory, this update should make your battery last longer.
Android has done a good job at limiting an app’s behind-the-scenes activity in recent updates. On Oreo, this protocol just gets even better.
Improved sound quality
If you haven’t noticed, we’re all slowly pushed towards usings Bluetooth earphones and speakers more and more. As headphone jacks are becoming less standard, Google hopes to help ease the transition in Android O by bringing in audio quality enhancements.
To improve the quality of your wireless cans, Oreo will come bundled with “high-quality Bluetooth audio codes”. Not only that, but the newest Android OS will utilize Sony’s LDAC technology to allow for Hi-Res audio playback over Bluetooth.
That just gives us more reason to get the best portable speakers paired with Android Oreo-powered phones!
Try picture-in-picture mode
Watching videos while doing something some other task is easy on Oreo, thanks to the picture-in-picture feature. With a native picture-in-picture framework for video apps in place, you may watch footage in a small window while navigating elsewhere.
Whether you’re reading emails or browsing the Web, that Netflix episode or Youtube clip you’re watching will continue to play on the foreground. Be advised that the window would be absolutely tiny on smartphones with average screen size.
Smarter text selection
Tap and hold on a snippet of text (e.g. address or phone number) and Android Oreo will highlight the whole thing for you. Contextual shortcuts appear in the bar above, too.
Say you’ve highlighted an address. You’ll consequently be shown a link that takes you to Google Maps, where you’ll likely find the location of the said address. You can say that selecting text on the Oreo just got smarter.
New camera shortcuts
Android O’s camera app comes with a couple of minor tweaks that could make a big difference to the photos and videos you take.
Now, you can double-tap the screen to zoom in and out (up to 50%). You can also switch between photo and video modes by tapping on icons instead of swiping.
Improved controls of notifications
There’s a new feature on Oreo called notification channels, which lets you customize certain categories of notifications from apps. You may now block less-useful notifications so the crucial ones get to your attention first.
Developers can now change the background color of certain notifications on Oreo, too. This can be quite useful in cases where there’s a critical alert. You’ll be able to delay certain notifications so you read them when you’re not too busy.
Seamless password management integration
Google is launching new Autofill APIs that lets you select data-storing apps to serve as your preferred autofill app. This will certainly come in handy for folks who use password managers for daily logins.
This new feature will function much like you selecting a keyboard app and is expected to make identity verification much more seamless.
A more ubiquitous Google Assistant
To put it simply: the voice assistant will be everywhere on Oreo. On Android O, the Assistant will simply work in the background even when you’re inside an app.
Let’s say you’re pulling up a clip of exercise for your morning routine. In that case, you can simply call on the Assistant and command it to play a Spotify playlist on your Google Home speakers.
On Oreo, you can bet the Assistant will become even more indispensable.
Nougat may have taken its sweet time, but the wait for the next Android OS may well be worth it. Android Oreo, no doubt, is packed with enough surprises to get any Android user stoked!
